Runaway Hearts
by Starr77
Summary: Complete The sequel to 'The Depth Of My Love'; A story of how every fairy tale can be slightly altered a bit and how happily ever after is really only the beginning.
1. Prologue

And here you are. Welcome. This is my baby, the story I've been huddled up feverishly writing since September. It's the sequel to my other story "The Depth Of My Love", and yes, you do need to read that first in order to get most of the stuff in this story. But it's short. And in my opinion, this story is much better than its prequel. Plus, even if you hated TDOML, you'll like this story. Same goes for if you liked it. It picks up exactly where the first one left off, but it's more of an actual story, told by Marron. And while we're on the subject of Marron… I think you'll find this Marron is very different from the one in TDOML. This Marron is strong, not as helpless as she was before. But as turn of events will take it (*hint, hint*) she needs to be as strong as possible. And there's your hint for the day.

So I'll stop boring you with my notes now. Please review, this is my favorite story I've written so far, and I can't wait to hear what you guys think. Enjoy.

__

And Cinderella and Prince Charming lived happily ever after. Or so they had thought…

As I sit here today, it's hard to believe that at one time, I was sitting in the back of a limo, my head on 'Ten's shoulder, dressed like Cinderella, and from that point on, I was the future Mrs. Son Goten. And I loved him so much, I didn't know what to do with myself.

Loved? I never stopped loving Goten. Never, ever, ever. I mean, one morning, the two of us were slow-dancing in the kitchen singing the old R.E.O. Speedwagon song "Keep On Loving You". And I meant every word I sang.

Things just got a little crazy, a little out of control. I changed, and people around me changed, and everything changed. I just lost control of my actions, of my thoughts. It sounds strange, I know. But it's what really truly happened.

Maybe some people, people I love and care about, think I did everything intentionally. Those people obviously don't care about me as much as I do them. But hey, they can believe what they want. Their opinion has no meaning to me anymore.

I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I guess I should start at the beginning. Well, not at the _very_ beginning, but far back enough so I'm not so confused. 

But then again, life is a confusing thing. So maybe it's okay that I'm confused. But I'll backtrack anyway.

So. Alright. Goten proposed in June. You know up until then. This story starts in July, when some crazy shit started to happen.

I began to think to myself, why does all this crap have to happen to me? Why can't 'Ten and I just live life calmly and smoothly?

Mom said that these things are a test. A test to see exactly how strong mine and 'Ten's relationship was. Did I mention how much I hate tests?

Anyway, I believed, through the entire test, that everything was going to be okay, that we would pass. How does that old song Pan used to listen to go? Oh yeah. "You keep us going on, you keep us fighting…". I felt like 'Ten was that little thing that kept us going. That kept us fighting.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I did believe that 'Ten and I loved each other enough to get through anything. I believed that in the end, love conquered all, and it would always be that way. Always.

'Ten was my savior, my Prince Charming, my knight in shining armor. The hero that rode in on the white horse and saved the day. But I was far from the princess who rode off with him into the sunset. I was okay with that, but I had an oh-so-glorious way of proving that to everyone.

My mother told me once that no man is perfect, no matter how close they come. And there was a time in my life when I followed that advice religiously. But when 'Ten went through all the hell for _me_, I knew he was perfect. Maybe not perfect to everyone else's standards, but to me, he was absolutely perfect. Human perfection.

There were times when 'Ten would be sleeping next to me and I'd just _look_ at him and _know_. I'd know that he was the _one_. The one that completed me. The one that made me this wonderful person that I love to be and that people love to be around. And I can tell all that by just _looking_ at him.

I counted the days until our wedding. Until we would be together forever. I had this little calendar on the fridge in the kitchen, and every morning, I would cross another day.

April was when the wedding was originally scheduled. But, as turn of events had it, we had to change it. The plan was to have it on 'Ten's birthday.

Now I guess I should start the story. It begins in July, at a time when everything was absolutely how I had wanted it for six months. So, I guess, here's what _really_ happened.


	2. Partyin' With The Briefs

Chapter One is here!! I feel like a really big dumbass thought. I was so excited when I typed out my author's notes for the prologue, I forgot about the dedication. This entire story is dedicated to Burned Vamp. Here's your drama. And maybe even your angst. 

July was always a really beautiful time. Everything was just so-- full. All the flowers were in bloom and all the trees were so green and rich. It was always a time I looked forward to. 

It was even more beautiful up in the mountains where Gohan and Videl lived. Goten and I were up there one afternoon, and Videl and I were sitting in the backyard while the boys sparred.

"You know, Marron, I really don't think I've ever seen Goten so happy. I guess you have that affect on him," Videl commented.

I smiled. "Thanks." I held in a laugh. I had always thought it was _Goten_ who had that affect on _me_. I took a sip of my soda. "I want Pan to be my maid of honor."

Videl gasped. "Really? Oh, she's going to love that! Do you want to call her? She's over at Bulma's."

"Nah, I'd rather tell her in person. You don't mind if she spends the weekend with us, do you?"

"Won't Goten mind?" I could _hear_ her smirking. 

We both burst into laughter. Hysterical laughter.

"What's so funny?" 'Ten asked as he and Gohan landed in the grass next to us.

I stopped laughing long enough to answer him. "Pan's spending the weekend with us."

"And that's funny how?" Gohan asked, taking a seat next to his wife. 

I shook my head. "You missed the joke. Don't worry, you two wouldn't think it was funny anyway."

"Let's just say someone has someone else wrapped around their finger," Videl said.

And those were my in-laws.

~

It's strange. I mean, me and Pan had been really good friends for years, and all of the sudden I had become this authority figure over her. I was her _aunt_. When she came to spend the weekend with us, it was the same as if she were spending the weekend with Goku and Chi-Chi.

But when she showed up at our door with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder, I knew it was going to be just like old times.

I gave her a hug, and we threw her stuff down on the floor and plopped down on the couch. 

"Where's Uncle 'Ten?" she asked, glancing toward the kitchen.

"I sent him out to get pizza, soda, ice cream, and some movies. He ate all our ice cream." I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I'm really glad you're staying here Pan. I have something to ask you." She nodded. "Well I was wondering. How would you like to be my maid of honor at the wedding?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded her head enthusiastically. "I'd love to!" Then she laughed. "And I used to think that Paresu would be my aunt."

I cringed at the mention of 'Ten's ex girlfriend. She was a sweet girl, no doubt about that, but since I was the reason 'Ten dumped her, she didn't exactly love me.

"Well," I said in mock insult, "maybe you liked Paresu better than me."

She crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue before laughing.

"No, but really, I'm glad you're staying here. It's going to be exactly like old times."

"Yeah, except instead of a pillow next to you in your bed, you have my uncle," she pointed out.

I grinned. "Who knows? Maybe you'll wake up in the morning and find 'Ten on the couch."

"What do you mean ''Ten on the couch'?" 'Ten asked as he walked through the front door.

Pan and I jumped up instantly. "Pizza!" We grabbed the boxes and took them back to our spots on couch.

"My two favorite girls are here, and I didn't even get one hug," he said with his head drooping.

"Awww, come here poor baby," I said, patting the couch cushion next to me. He sat down like a lost puppy, dropping all the bags he was holding. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Pan giggled. "Here Uncle 'Ten, have some pizza."

"That's better. I knew I deserved more for bringing you two food," he mumbled through a mouthful of pizza. "Hey! I have an idea!"

I laughed. "Should we be afraid?"

He pretended to ignore me. "Why don't we call those Briefs kids and have our own little party?"

"Yeah! We should!" Pan agreed. "I haven't talked to Bra in ages!"

"Actually, it was yesterday," 'Ten pointed out.

__

We ignored _him_. I grinned. "I'll call. I bet if I talk to Bulma, I can get Trunks out of work." I grabbed the phone and dialed. "Hi Bulma!"  
"Marron! Hi sweetie! What can I do for you?"

"Well, Pan's spending the weekend with us, and we were just wondering if Trunks and Bra wanted to come and hang out with us." I gave 'Ten and Pan a wink.

"Oh! Trunks is working right now sweetie. I'm sorry."

"That's too bad Bulma. I was really looking forward to hanging out with him."

"Well, I guess just one night wouldn't hurt---"

I cut her off. "That's great Bulma! Thanks a bunch!" I hung up the phone and grinned. "Order some more pizza baby. We're going to have a party!"

~

I think I had more fun that night than I ever had in my life. The five of us stayed up until around six in the morning, just talking, laughing, telling jokes, doing impressions, and going over some infamous events. We made fun of Pan; her grandfather being the man who took credit for defeating Cell when actually it was her father who did. We made fun of Trunks; his future self coming to warn Goku about the androids, and that led them to making fun of me. My mother, the killer android.

I took out my photo album, which had pictures as old as from when Daddy and Goku were training at Kame House. There were pictures of them, Grandpa Roshi, Yamcha and Bulma, Turtle, and a blonde who we found out was Lunch. There were shots from Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding, followed by ones of baby Gohan. Soon came an elder Gohan, with Daddy and Bulma before leaving for Namek. Then a teary-eyed Bulma in the arms of a teary-eyed Yamcha. Baby Trunks. Pregnant Chi-Chi. Baby 'Ten. My parents' wedding. Pregnant Mom. Baby me. And so many others.

Around six, we all just kind of collapsed where we were. I closed the curtains as the sun rose so we wouldn't be disturbed in the wee hours of the afternoon. It had been an amazing night. 


	3. Balcony Encounter

Okay this is where the drama starts. And it's good. Oh, it's good. 

Though the curtains were closed, the annoyingly bright sun still found a way to pop its way through. But I had to smile at the scene before me. Pan and Bra were slumped against each other on the couch. 'Ten and I were on the floor. But Trunks was gone.

I wriggled out of 'Ten's grip. His eyes opened halfway, but I shook my head and kissed his nose. "Go back to sleep baby." He rolled over and was sleeping in an instant.

Smiling, I walked around the apartment, poking my head into rooms, looking for Trunks. I found him outside on the small balcony off our bedroom.

"Mornin' Briefs," I said.

He opened his arms wide and I walked into them. "I think we missed morning. It's two in the afternoon."

I laughed and pulled away. "Oh well. I guess that's true."

"You know Mar," he said, his gaze turned back toward the sky, "I don't think 'Ten realizes how lucky he is."

Oh SHIT. "What do you mean by that?" Boy aren't _I_ the brave one?

"Well come on. He's engaged to the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful, perfect woman in the entire universe."

I panicked. 'Stay sleeping 'Ten. Please stay sleeping.' If Goten heard exactly what Trunks was saying, Trunks would be in a heap of ashes on the ground. And if _that_ was bad, it was nothing compared to what Trunks Vegeta 'I-wanna-die' Briefs did next.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. And then he kissed me. He fucking kissed me. But the worst thing was, I didn't do a damn thing about it.

I pulled away and ran. I ran to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth. Three times. And used a half a bottle of Listerine.

I jumped, literally, into the shower, took off all my clothes, turned on the water, and doused myself with a bottle of shower gel.

'Ten must have heard me, because the door opened and I heard his voice. "Marron? You okay sweetie?"

"Fine," I called out. "Absolutely fine."

"No you're not." I knew I could never fool him. "What happened?

I poked my head out. "Nothing. I just-- needed to take a shower. Really 'Ten, I'm fine. Promise." 

He squinted at me for a minute before shaking his head and leaving. I let out a sigh of relief. Close. Too close.

How could I really have been so… awful? How could I have just stood there and let Trunks kiss me? Trunks, of all people? How could I have done to Goten? Goten, of all people? What the _hell_ did I just do?

I turned off the water, wrapped a towel around me and headed to our bedroom.

"Oh! Ron!" Bra called from the living room. "Trunks had to go to work, but it's cool if I hang out here with you guys, right?"

I forced a smile. "Of course B! Lemme get dressed and I'll make some breakfast." I turned the corner to the bedroom and was greeted by 'Ten sprawled out on the bed.

"What happened?" he asked. "And don't you dare say 'nothing', because you turned into Miss I-need-to-take-a-shower-until-I-washed-my-skin-off, and Trunks got all quiet and mumbled some excuse before leaving. Something's up."

I stood in front of the closet and pretended to concentrate on what to wear. "Trunks had to go to work, and I figured I'd start getting ready. Bra and Pan are going to want to go shopping later." It wasn't _really_ a lie; Trunks _did_ have to go to work (or 'Ten would blast him through the wall), and I needed to take a shower (and wash off all the guilt).

"Whatever you say babe. Trunks seemed really freaked out when he left, though."

"Tired, probably," I muttered, pulling a pair of denim capris over my underwear. I held up two shirts. "Pink or white?"

"Pink. But seriously, you and me know old Briefs better than anyone, and how many times has he gone into work voluntarily? How many times have you heard him say 'I think it's time to suit up and become Mr. President now'?" He pushed a pair of invisible glasses up the bridge of his nose.

My head snapped up. "He didn't actually say that, did he?"

He burst into laughter. "I wish! That would have been the best story to tell his new girlfriend!"

"New girlfriend?" I queried. "Trunks has a new girlfriend?" I pulled my hair into low pigtails and fumbled around the vanity for some lip gloss.

"Yeah, I met her last week. She's _real_ hot, too," he said dreamily.

I held up my hand and pointed to my ring. "Hi. Remember me?"

"Yeah, well, she's hot, but I think you're like, a thousand times hotter."

"Nice save," I muttered, rummaging through the closet for a pair of sandals. "Anyway, she must not be too wonderful because one, I didn't hear anything about her, and two, he spent the night on our living room floor instead of in her bed." And three, he stood there kissing me, I added silently.

"Hmm. Maybe you're right. I guess Mr. Briefs is finally getting back to normal," 'Ten observed, fiddling with the drawstring on his sweatpants.

Back to normal. It'd been so long since Trunks was what 'Ten and I knew as normal. Since before he and I dated.

"You want something to eat? I was going to make something real quick for the girls."

He followed me back to the living room where Pan and Bra were flipping through my photo album. "Hungry? I think I have stuff for burgers, or maybe just sandwiches." I turned to the kitchen. "'Ten, what food do we have left?"

He was already in the fridge, looking around for something to eat. "I'll cook," he offered.

"Hey Bra, did Trunks tell you anything about his new girlfriend?" I asked, keeping my voice down so 'Ten wouldn't hear me. If Trunks was still in love with me, I at least had to know who he was more or less cheating on. I mean, it was only courteous to the girl, right?

"You mean Kim?" Bra asked. "Trunks' been dating her for about two weeks now. She's really nice, and really pretty. In fact, I think she looks a lot like you." 

That made total sense. As freaked out as I was about kissing Trunks, I was very, very curious about this 'real hot' girlfriend my best friend, after Pan, had and hadn't mentioned for two weeks. "Are they still together?"

She nodded. "They had lunch together in his office yesterday. Didn't Trunks tell you about her?"

"Nope. 'Ten just did. I thought that was kinda weird, don't you?" She nodded again, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe he didn't tell you because he didn't want you to know," Pan piped up.

The three of us shrugged.


	4. Marron's Big Mistake

So I was avoiding Trunks for the second time in less than a year. Good friendship, huh? And to top off what a good person I was being, I hadn't told 'Ten about our little balcony encounter. In fact, I hadn't told anyone. Go me.

You don't know how many times I involuntarily picked up the phone and started to punch out Capsule Corps.' number. How many times I sat there thinking to myself, 'Oh man, Trunks is going to freak when he hears this.' Or even how many times I made excuses not to hang out with Bra for fear I'd run into him. I lived a sad, sad life for the next week or two. But not to worry. Dende decided to spice up our lives.

It was practically August that day; the weather was hot and humid as 'Ten and I sat down to eat dinner.

"I was thinking. Maybe we should go out to dinner this week," he commented through mouthfuls of steak and potatoes.

I raised an eyebrow. "Fancy or casual?" I passed him the bowl of potatoes.

He scooped more food onto his plate. "Fancy. How 'bout dressing up this weekend babe?"

"Sure. We haven't done that in a while," I said. But an idea was forming in my head. It wasn't an idea that 'Ten would love, but it was an idea that really made sense. "Hey sweetie? I have to run some errands after dinner, and I probably won't get back until late. That's fine with you, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Should I wait up for you? I got beat pretty bad by Gohan today, and I just wanna sleep for hours and hours." He shoved a final piece of steak into his mouth and walked his plate to the sink.

"Oh, no. You get some rest and we'll hang out tomorrow and make dinner plans." And the idea had turned into a plan.

~

It was close to eight as I walked down the streets of Orange Star City. I could've drove, but I didn't drive since the accident. Even though where I was going was three towns away, the long walk would definitely do me some good.

I couldn't help but smile at the familiar "landmarks" I passed: Orange Star High, Satan City General, that old pizza place on the corner of Sixth and Main, and even Capsule Corp. Avenue, the home of a place that had been a second (or third) home to me practically all my life.

But I wasn't heading to any of those places. In fact, those places weren't even in the right _town_ as the place I was going. And as I reached the correct town of my destination, Gingertown, I was greeted by the beautiful scene of the sunset.

Ironic, though, that scene. It was absolutely sublime, that sky, the type of image I would have loved to share with Goten. But here I was, walking down the main stretch of Gingertown by myself.

One minute, I had been staring at that sky, and the next, I was where I had intended to be. I knocked on the door nervously and somehow convinced myself to stay instead of taking off.

The door opened and he stared at me in complete silence. I didn't say a word, but bit my lip and found a sudden interest in my shoes. He took a step back, inviting me in wordlessly and led me to the living room where he motioned for me to sit next to him on the couch.

Silence. 

Living on a freakin' deserted island for twenty-two years, you'd think peace and quiet was my thing. I had to say something soon, or I'd pull all the hair out of my head.

"Do you still love me?" I blurted out.

Trunks' eyes widened. "It--it doesn't matter if I do or not Ron. I couldn't admit to anything _now_. Come on, how could I do something like that to 'Ten?"

"You already kissed me," I retorted.

"I know, I know. That was wrong of me. But you shouldn't even be here---"

I cut him off. "Do you love me?"

"Yes. I love you, Marron."

Seriously, honestly, and truly, I had absolutely no control over what my body did. It was like someone had a giant remote control and they were in charge. Because the next thing I knew, I was on top of Trunks.

~

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. It was still dark, and a clock next to me said it was two thirty. And when I turned to my right, I saw lavender hair sweeping across the pillow. Not black. Lavender. And I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life. 

What the hell could have possibly possessed me to do something so terrible, so--so bad, I couldn't even think of a word for it. If only when I had formed that plan in my head I had known what would happen, I would have stayed home and watched TV. With 'Ten. Oh Dende, god of all gods, Goten. What was I supposed to tell Goten?

Quietly, I got out of bed and searched around for my clothes. I got dressed and gave Trunks a kiss on the forehead before heading out into the night. The moon and the stars shone overhead, lighting my way through the city streets.

I had no idea what I just did. What kind of person, what kind of _fiancé_, goes and sleeps with their best friend? Their _fiancé's_ best friend? And I thought _kissing_ Trunks was bad enough.

I tiptoed into our apartment and carefully got into bed next to 'Ten. Slowly, I wrapped his arms around me and cried. I just laid there and sobbed, like some helpless little girl. And I felt like I was. I had probably just done something that could totally and completely _ruin_ our marriage, and all I could to was cry.

What was I going to tell him in the morning? How was that conversation supposed to go? "Good morning Mar, how was your night?" "Oh it was wonderful. I just slept with your best friend, but otherwise, things were just lovely." I couldn't tell him that. It had to be a time when I could explain myself, and at that moment, I couldn't. I had no freaking idea why I had sex with Trunks. No idea. 

It wasn't that Goten wasn't what I wanted. No, that definitely wasn't the reason. 'Ten was the love of my life; there was no denying that. Trunks and I once shared something I thought was love, but that didn't even come close to what I felt for Goten. It wasn't lust, because I had no attraction to Trunks whatsoever. Sure, Trunks is gorgeous, but when you see the inside of a person and what they can do other people, physical attraction kind of fades away. So there was just no logical reason for doing what I did. 

But maybe… maybe it was instinct. I mean, when someone tells you they love with the emotion Trunks did, what else do you do? So it's no excuse, but I made a promise right there to myself that I would tell 'Ten, no matter how hard it was. Eventually. I had to think of exactly what to say. 


	5. And All the Best Deceptions and The Clev...

Big thanks to Asanra and Aerith! Here's chapter 4. 

I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't sleep the entire night. I cried. Which kind of surprised me. If I had done something so terribly degrading and awful to Goten, shouldn't _he_ be the one crying? 

At eight I slipped out of bed and splashed some cold water on my face. I just love proving what an asshole I am, don't I? And then I heard 'Ten getting up.

I took a deep breath and slapped a fake smile onto my pale face and tried to calm my shaking hands. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. 

"There's my Marron," he said in his gentle voice. "How was your night? I didn't even hear you get in last night."

I put a shaky hand over the other shaky hand, but it just resulted in one, big, shaky mass form. "I got in kinda late. Let me go start breakfast."

"Wait. You look really pale. Are you sick?"

Was I sick? No. Just completely and utterly terrified. "No, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well last night." The understatement of the year. "Come on, let's go get some coffee. I think I just need some caffeine."

He grabbed my arm before I could walk off. "Hey, I didn't get my kiss yet."

"I've got bed breath though," I said quickly. I couldn't kiss him with--- with Trunks still on my mouth. "I'm going to take a quick shower, okay? Could you make me some really really strong coffee?"

He nodded and I gave him a forced smile. "Thanks babe."

I could've told him. I should've told him. It was the perfect chance and I blew it. Who knew when the next perfectly good opportunity would come around. Was I going to have to live with this guilt hanging over me forever? It just wasn't the sort of thing you kinda blurt out nonchalantly. Oh Dende, please help me.

~

Four o'clock in the freakin' morning, and I have to be sitting here throwing up, I thought as I gripped the toilet harder and braced myself. It was really bad, the fourth morning in a row it had happened. 

It was two weeks after my little rendezvous with Trunks. I had tried to tell 'Ten, really I had, it was just too hard. So instead, I was barfing my brains out. How lovely.

"Goten, I don't understand it," I whined. "Why am I so sick?"

He kissed the top of my head. "You know, Mar, Videl was sick like this once. Just once, though."

"What was wrong with her?"

"Well, let's just say nine months later, Pan was born."

My head jerked up and I wiped my mouth. "Are you serious? Do you really think I'm pregnant?"

"You could be. How about we go ask Bulma later? Are you done blowing chunks now?" He grabbed my shaky hand and helped me stand up. 

I nodded. "Let's go back to sleep. Then we can find out if your theory is right."

Pregnant. Shit. It was Trunks' baby. It just had to be, I told myself as 'Ten and I crawled back into bed. But then again… There _was_ a chance it was Goten's. 

"Dende, you really did it this time," I whispered to the ceiling as 'Ten drifted off into slumber.

~  
  
"So, what's it look like doc?" Goten asked Bulma as she looked down at her clipboard. We were in one of the lab rooms at Capsule Corp., and of course the two of them were standing nice and pretty while I was laying there in the most unflattering position possible.

Bulma grinned. "You're pregnant!" she shrieked throwing her clipboard up in the air and waving her arms around.

My mouth dropped open and I turned to 'Ten who had the same reaction. I sat up and ran my hand through my hair. "Are-- are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. One hundred percent positive." Then she turned around and started walking away. "I'll leave you two alone."

"I don't believe it," 'Ten started. "I mean, I told you you might be, but I never thought it was actually true." He threw his arms around me. "We're going to have a baby."  


I reached up for a kiss. "I know. It's amazing. We're going to be parents. Our little baby is right here." I brought his hand to my stomach. 

"I love you Mar."

"I love you too Goten. More than you know."

Thanks a lot Dende.

~

I'd never seen 'Ten so excited. He was walking on a cloud. He never stopped smiling, no matter what was happening. And one little piece of information could change his whole perspective on life. 

Something, though, just felt right. Something felt like this little thing inside of me _was_ Goten's, and everything was going to work out perfectly.

I prayed. I prayed so much. It was just so… hard to have to talk about the baby and not think about how I had let Goten down. I had betrayed him, and if my feeling was wrong, he would know, and never forgive me.

Having to tell him was like one of those movies where the teenage daughter goes out, gets pregnant, and has to tell her parents. Except I think I would rather have been in that girl's situation. Even with my very highly explosive parents.

But my parents were excited, and Goku and Chi-Chi were _thrilled_. Man, what were they going to think of me. Marron, perfect little Marron, who always obeyed her parents, never got in trouble, and was always totally honest and never told a lie, went out, cheated on her fiancé with her best friend, and got pregnant. Sounded more like a soap opera than a life. Congratulations Ron, you've just advanced to Wow! My life's messed up! 

Ick, and I still had to talk to Trunks. That was a conversation I was looking forward to. "Hi Trunks, how's it going? Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant, and it could be yours." Yeah. Sure.


	6. Never Have Sex With Your Best Friends

Thank you reviwers. Much love to all of you 

I left a message with Trunks' secretary one morning for him to have lunch with me. I didn't want to, but my annoying responsible side kept telling me that I had to.

It was almost September that afternoon, as I made my way to that little restaurant down the street from CC. It was really scary; Trunks was really scary again. But this time it was Goten who was going to murder him.

We hugged, like we had always done, but it was an awkward hug, stiff and formal. Not the Trunks I knew.

"So what's up?" he asked as we sat down.

"You're related to Bulma. You probably know what's been going on," I started nervously.

He reached into his suit jacket. "That you're pregnant? Nope. Mom didn't tell me. I found out here." He threw a newspaper on the table. 

****

Capsule Corp.'s President's Ex Pregnant

__

Marron Chestnut, the ex fiancé of Trunks Briefs, the President of the well-known company Capsule Corporation, announced yesterday that she was with child. Chestnut and Briefs spilt up last year.

The supposed father of the baby is Chestnut's current fiancé, Son Goten, whom is also the best friend of Briefs. Son and Chestnut were engaged at Bulma Briefs' CC ball last June held in their honor.

"I'm really hoping the baby is Goten's," an excited Chestnut said. "I mean, there is the chance that it's Trunks', but I highly doubt it."

An equally excited Briefs says, "I'm very excited for the both of them. They both deserve this very much."

The baby is due in May of next year. 

"You gave them a quote?" 

"You announced you were pregnant?"

"Nope."

He laughed. "The press has a wonderful way of exaggerating things, don't they? I never knew we were engaged, or that you would openly say you hope the baby is 'Ten's."

"I wouldn't. Not to the public. But I do hope it's 'Ten's. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't."

"Did you tell him about… us?" he asked, picking up the menu and scanning it quickly.

I twirled my hair in my finger nervously. "No. I almost did, but I couldn't. It's too hard to tell him. I wouldn't survive if he left."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Eventually. Maybe after we get married. It has to be at the right time, you know? I can't just blurt it out like it's nothing. Cause it's definitely something." I fixed my shirt and cleared my throat. "I'm going to tell him the entire truth, and I'm going to take complete responsibility for everything. He shouldn't be mad at you, it wasn't your fault."

He shook his head. "I could have stopped you. Don't you dare blame yourself for this whole thing. "It was as much my fault as it was yours. He's going to blame me no matter what your story says."

I knew that, but I was trying to be nice to him, even I was kinda pissed off at him still for kissing me. "What about Kim? What happened to her?"

"Um, Kim?" he asked nervously. "How'd you find out about her?"

"'Ten and Bra told me. How come you didn't?"

An uneasy look spread across his face. "I wasn't ready to. With her, I was trying to get over you, so I thought if we talked about it, it wouldn't work."

I laughed despite his apprehension. "They said she looks like me."  


"She does. You don't know how many times I've called her Ron. Another reason I didn't tell you about her."

Talking with Trunks made me realize just how much of my best friend he actually was. Never, ever, ever have sex with your friends. No matter how hot they are.

~

Picture this: I'm about to be married, I'm pregnant, and everything is perfect. Right? Wrong. Outside, yeah, everything was absolutely amazing. But inside, things couldn't have been worse. 

Anxiety was eating away at my insides like acid; ripping and tearing apart at those organs I kind of need. I couldn't say anything without worrying that Goten was going to find out. Find out and leave me.

Trunks told me that when I was in the accident and unconscious, 'Ten told him he'd have nothing left to live for if I didn't make it. If 'Ten found out what I did before I was totally ready to tell him, and he left me, _I_ would have nothing to live for. 

I know it was selfish, but the only reason I didn't tell 'Ten was so that he would marry me. I needed him to marry me, for him to see exactly what kind of person I was and could be, and then when I found a way to tell him, I would. And then he could decide what he thought. 

I couldn't talk about the baby, or even any of the Briefs family for that matter, without getting this nauseous feeling in my stomach. It wasn't that I didn't want the baby; I did, a lot. I had been dreaming about starting a family with 'Ten for a long time then, but under the circumstances given, I just wasn't exactly thrilled.

I thought once or twice, about asking Dende or Piccolo if they knew who the father was. But both of them are close with Gohan, and even though my confidence in them was strong, I just didn't know. I didn't know if I could trust them one hundred percent. 

~

"'Ten," I said one day, "I need you to make me a promise. I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll never leave me. Promise me you'll always stay with me no matter how much of an ass I am."

"I promise."

I was such a fake. It made me throw up. But that could always have been the morning sickness. No, it was me. 


	7. Dates and Dresses

Big big thanks... I love you guys, you know who you are. Here's chapter 6. 

"We have to move the date," Mom told me one day. It was September, and I was over at Kame House helping her cook dinner for the four of us. Five if you counted Grandpa Roshi, six if you counted Oolong, and seven if you counted Turtle. 

I looked at her questioningly. "What date?"

She rolled her eyes. "The _wedding_ date, of course. Unless you want to get married when you're nine months pregnant. And let me tell you, those Saiyan babies are pretty big. Do you know how _huge_ Chi-Chi was when she was having Goten?"

"What do you suggest? Sometime soon, right? When I can still find a dress, or should we wait until after the baby's born?" I wanted to take back those words so bad. After the baby, no good. It could be too late then.

Luckily, my mother doesn't believe in babies before marriage. Thank Dende for that. "You can't wait until after the baby. That's just not good. November? You definitely want to do it before the holidays."

I laughed. "Yes. And before I get too fat to fit into a dress. I wanted it to be in the spring, though."

"That's what you get for getting knocked up," Oolong's voice carried in from the hallway.

"Hey Marron, why don't we have **HAM** for dinner tonight?" Mom asked loudly, causing the pig to squeak and run up the stairs to the safety of his room. "Remind me why I've lived here for all these years."

"Because you love me too much to leave," Daddy said as he and 'Ten wandered into the kitchen.

I looked around. "Does anyone else want to put their two sense into this conversation here?"

'Ten grinned. "I do!"

"Okay, all joking aside, we do have to get serious here," Mom interjected. "We have a wedding to plan and damn little time to do it. Now, no one, especially you, Goten, can eat any dinner until we at least have a month."

Goten whimpered and rubbed his stomach. "How far away are we going for? Before the baby, after the baby, or are we eloping?"

Daddy narrowed his eyes. "I have one daughter, and I'm going to walk her down the aisle. You are _not_ eloping."

"Of course, Daddy. I would never elope anyway. There'd be no room for the pink and white roses," I said.

"Ha! One detail taken care of. Pink and white roses." Mom searched around for a piece of paper to write on. "Now, have you figured out location?"

I nodded. "Here. Right on the beach. You guys don't mind, do you?"

"I do!" Grandpa Roshi yelled from the living room.

"But this way when you get drunk and pass out you don't have to worry about someone bringing you home!" Mom yelled back.

He laughed his perverted little laugh and we all rolled our eyes. "No, we don't mind at all," Daddy said. 

'Ten snatched a calendar off the fridge and scanned it. "Saturday, November sixth at noon, outside on the beach with pink and white roses. Gohan's the best man; Pan's the maid of honor. Can we eat now?"

Mom, Daddy, and I all looked at each other. "Only a Son would come up with such a brilliant plan in less than a minute," Daddy mused.

"Yes 'Ten, we can eat now." His smile was a mile wide.

~

Though Mom thought it we be a good idea to look for dresses, she suggested we wait on buying mine until two weeks before the wedding. So her, Pan, Chi-Chi, and I took one day to look through this little bridal shop on the edge of town where she bought her dress. It was this cute place, hidden in the shadows of the corner of the city. Exactly where I wanted my dress from.

So I was looking around, and nothing really caught my eye. Then I saw it. **THE** dress. The dress that I needed to have.

It was just sitting there, like it was nothing, wedged between two hideously ugly dresses that I would never be caught dead in. (How wonderful of me to point out, huh?) It had this _aura_ around it that I couldn't even imagine, and when I gasped and took a step back, Mom knew.

Never one to show her emotions, a small nod and a "I like it" meant that she was just as crazy about it as I was. Pan went absolutely nuts, and even Chi-Chi stared at it in awe.

"You better tell that boy of yours just exactly what he's in for, Chi," Mom said. "We don't want any accidents at the alter."

Chi-Chi nodded. "Goten might not be the only male there we'll have to worry about."

"Oh come on! I won't look that good, I'll be four months pregnant for Dende's sake!" I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation.

Mom shook her head. "You just wait Marron. Just wait."

~

"So I found the perfect dress today," I told 'Ten that night at dinner.

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? How big do they have to make it? By November, you'll be huge."

I threw a French fry at him, which he caught, of course. "It's your fault! If you could have kept your pants on, I could be skinny and we could have our wedding in April and everything would be going as planned."

"Hey, I didn't hear you object _once_."

"No one asked for your opinion anyway."

He threw a fry at me.


	8. Wedding Preparations

Just to clear something up: Trunks isn't the best man in the wedding because Gohan's Goten's brother, and I just figured family would come first. Enjoy. 

"Marron! Come on, Ronnie, wake up!" Bra yelled.

I opened my eyes and groaned. "What time is it?"

"Five. Don't you know what today is?"

I jolted up and looked around. Then I remembered why there wasn't someone next to me in the bed. "I'm getting married today!" I squealed. I jumped out of bed and bounced into the kitchen. "Hi Mom."

She gave me a nod in return and finished helping Chi-Chi with breakfast. Pan was at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. My apartment had been invaded by pajama people.

"How long have you guys been here?"

"Since four. We figured you might need some help getting ready," Chi-Chi said. "Pancakes?"

I nodded, and she stacked a Saiyan-style pancake plate up for me. I dug in. "Do you guys have all your stuff here?"

Mom nodded. "And they were already setting up the island when I left. Your father has everything under control over there, so all we have to worry about is you."

"And my boys. They're over there helping Krillin too, and if I know Goku and Goten, they're fooling around and raising hell over there," Chi-Chi added.

"Nah, not 'Ten. He's too excited to raise hell. He told me last night that was nervous and excited and he really couldn't wait," I said.

Pan raised an eyebrow. "When did you talk to him last night? I thought he left yesterday afternoon to get ready for the bachelor party."

"Oh he did," I mumbled through my pancakes. "He called me after it was over."

Bra laughed. "He called you after his bachelor party? After he most likely saw a stripper?" (Chi-Chi gasped.) "After he had beer and bonded with males? Boy Mazzie, you have him whipped."

"I do not have him _whipped_. He just wanted to check and make sure things were okay. He is not whipped," I insisted. Then I looked up. "He's whipped, isn't he?"

Four heads nodded.

~

Mom tried to get everyone ready quickly and calmly, but of course, that didn't happen. So she got herself ready in record time, (not that it takes much to make my mother look like a million zenni) and locked us in my bedroom. 

She started working on my hair, and she wouldn't let me anywhere near a mirror.

"How do I know you're not totally screwing up my hair?" I asked.

"You'll just have to trust me. Oh, and remember, if you look bad, I look bad."

I smiled and looked down at my hands. "Mom, do you think marrying 'Ten is the right thing to do? I mean, what if this is wrong?" _What if I'm having Trunks' baby?_

"I knew something was wrong. You've been very jumpy over the past couple of months. What's going on?"

I took a deep breath. _Now or never Ron_. "What happened, Mom, is something you can't tell anyone. Not Daddy, not Goten, not Bulma, not Chi-Chi, not Videl, not anyone." She nodded. "Okay. A couple months ago, 'Ten and I had Pan stay the weekend with us. He thought it would be fun to invite Trunks and Bra over and have our own little party. Well, we hung out until like, six in the morning. And then the next morning, I woke up in the living room and everyone was sleeping, but Trunks was gone. So I got up and looked around, and found him on the balcony. And he kissed me."

"Wait," she interrupted. "That's why you've been so jumpy? If you would have just told Goten, I'm sure he would've understood that it was Trunks' fault."

"No, that's not the end of the story. I was trying to attempt to work things out with him, and I went over to his apartment one night. He told me he still loved me, and we… I--"

She gasped. "You didn't."

"I did," I whispered.

"Marron. I don't believe you, of all people, would ever do something like tha--- wait. What about the baby? Is it Trunks'?"

"I don't think so. I've been talking to Vegeta about the Saiyan father-child bond, and he said that even with an unborn child, the father can feel a bond. It's subconscious, so you don't really know it's there. If the baby wasn't 'Ten's, he wouldn't feel any more excitement than Trunks is. But 'Ten's _ecstatic_. So I'm figuring the bond is there somewhere, and maybe I didn't screw up so bad." I fingered the hem of my shirt. "Or maybe I did."

Mom picked the curling iron back up. "You screwed up kid, that's something you can't deny. But if this whole Saiyan thing is right, then maybe you have a little weight lifted off your shoulders. Are you going to tell him?"

"Eventually, yes. I promised myself I would. I didn't want to ruin the entire wedding. I know how much this means to him. It wouldn't be fair to tell him now." And it wouldn't. The wedding meant so much to him. He was just so excited, so happy. He had told me the night before that his life was in a perfect place at that moment. Who was I to ruin that?

~

Four hours later, Mom announced she was done and let me look in a mirror. And she had truly outdone herself. I looked so--- well, not to brag, but I looked pretty damn good. 

"Mom, do you know how much money you could make if you did this professionally?"

She snorted. "There's an image."

I laughed. "No, but really, thank you. You did an amazing job."

"That husband of yours is going to be on the ground when he sees you. We'll have to have the senzu beans on hand."

"Do you really think so?"

She opened the door and cleared her throat. Pan, Bra, and Chi-Chi were all gaping at me. "If _they_ do that, what do you _think_ Goten's going to do?"

I smiled. Then I got a good look at Pan. Before that day, I had only seen Son Pan in a dress twice. And twice before, she had amazed me. But when we picked out her dress that day, I had no idea that eighteen year-old Pan would look like a full-grown, gorgeous woman. 

"Holy Dende Pan, you look so beautiful!" Even if she had complained that pink wasn't her color, I could tell, deep down, it was.

"Thanks, but pink's not really my color." See what I mean?


	9. It's A Nice Day For A White Wedding

Big thanks to all of the reviewers, you guys kick ass. 

And so we all piled into Bra's air car and headed for Kame Island. I smiled the whole ride over. I couldn't help it. 

The baby kicked for the first time on the way over there, and Bra squealed so loud I thought she was going to lose control of the car and crash. 

And then, when the baby started kicking and moving around, it hit me. Not the kid, _it_. I was marrying `Ten. And I was having his baby. Or at least, that's what I hoped. It was slowly becoming a reality as Kame House came into view and I saw the makeshift alter and the white carpet rolled out and the pink and white rose petals scattered over the island and the rows of white chairs and all the guests, the people I had known all of my life. And then, at the end of all that, was `Ten.

I waved to `Ten and Gohan from the car. A sucker for tradition, Chi-Chi almost bit my head off. "You can't let him see you before the wedding. It's bad luck."

So I pulled myself out of view. We needed all the luck Dende could give us. 

We landed (recklessly) and carefully stepped out. ("You don't want to get your dress all sandy!") Daddy was standing there waiting for us. ("Wow Juu, you look amazing." "Don't compliment me. Compliment Marron. You can praise me all you want next.") 

Bra, Mom, and Chi-Chi all left to find their seats. Pan gave my hand a quick squeeze before making her walk down. 

"Daddy," I began, "I have everything under control. So no matter what crazy shit is going to happen, I know what I'm doing. I hope."

He smiled. "I don't think you're supposed to say `shit' on your wedding day, firefly." He held out his arm. "Ready? I think we're up."

I took his arm. "Yes," I said truthfully. "I'm ready."

The walk down was the longest experience ever. It seemed that the aisle just went on forever. And I had to pass all my family and friends along the way. There was the Ox King in the back, who looked like he was ready to cry, Bulma, who gave me a wink, my Uncle 17 was leaning against the house, giving me a smirk, Piccolo was on the roof, trying (and failing) not to be seen, Mom, who gave me a full smile, and Trunks. I don't know, but I needed Trunks to be there. And I was glad he was.

And then, was the end of that long walk, which in reality was only three rows of chairs. But it didn't matter. Goten was at the end. So I gave my Daddy a kiss and he sat down. And there it was.

Dende performed the ceremony, half in Namekian, that only Bulma could understand, and she only knew very little. But it was still beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

But although I had never seen something so serene and real, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I had let 'Ten down. How much I had taken his trust and abused it. I vowed right then and there, along with the vows I shared with Goten, that I would tell him and try to make things better. I would fix my mistakes.

Then it was over. I was Mrs. Son Goten, and we were walking down the aisle to a thunderous applause from our friends and family and bawling form Chi-Chi and Bulma. 

And it was on to the reception.

~

The reception was really just the other side of the island with some tables, chairs, food, and a stereo. They had set up a makeshift dance floor in the center. ("So I can show off my smooth moves," 'Ten had said.) And something inside me said it was going to be perfect.

In the middle of all the chaos of getting there, (which didn't make sense to me. How could there be chaos when you're just walking to another side of a small house?) I got a chance to slip away and find Piccolo. He was in the middle of a glaring match with my uncle, and I could tell they were both glad I showed up.

"Marron," Piccolo said in a greeting as he and Uncle 17 both looked away from each other and to me. "Congratulations to both you and Goten."

"Thank you Piccolo. I'm glad you could make it. You too Uncle 17. I never imagined you would show up. But I need to talk to you please." I pulled Piccolo away. "I'm sure you know what's been going on with me and--- Trunks. I just thought it would be the right thing to tell you exactly what's happening as of now."

He nodded. "I know."

"Yes," I continued. "And I'm taking care of it. I know you don't approve at all, and I have to ask you to not tell Goten."

"I won't tell your secret, don't worry. But you just make sure you tell that husband of yours. Because if you don't, Marron, I will." 

I swallowed hard. "Of course. But before I go, um, do you know whose baby it is?" I asked hesitantly. 

"I do. But you still have to tell him."

Though it wasn't a direct answer, I felt so much hope from it. I smiled faintly and nodded. "Thanks." I saw Mom come over. 

"Marron, you're wanted over there. Your husband is whining."

"Yeah, sure Mom. Thanks again Piccolo."

He nodded in reply. 

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the party. "Do you know why you're uncle's here?"

I shook my head. "No clue. Come on, let's go do this thing."

~

And we did. We partied and danced for hours and hours, and soon, under the stars. I danced with everyone: `Ten, Trunks, Daddy, Goku, Gohan, Yamcha, and even Vegeta. I told him since it was my wedding day, he had to do anything I wanted.

And it was so amazing. And when the last dance arrived, I literally grabbed 'Ten away from his brother and dragged him onto the dance floor. "Last dance," I told him sweetly.

"So this means it's over?" he asked sadly. He was enjoying this, I could tell.

I smiled. "Nope, it's only just beginning. We have the rest of eternity." _Which means I have the rest of eternity to tell you exactly what happened._ I leaned my face in closer. "Our baby kicked today. I think it knew there was something exciting going on."

He nodded. "And," he started dramatically, sweeping me across the floor elegantly, "I think we are having a girl."

"You do? What makes you think that?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Because Gohan had Pan. You see, my parents had two boys, so it's only natural that my child would be a girl." 

"Ahhh, I see. So, Mr. Son, what fairy tale do you think we're in this time?"

He laughed. "Well Mrs. Son, I think we just invented our own fairy tale, don't you?"

Did I mention how much I love fairy tales?


	10. Honeymoonin' In The Desert

I have been so skimpy on author's notes, and I apologize. This chapter is shorter than the others because I lost the end of it, and had to try to re-write it from memory. But my memory's not that good, so, well, you know. This is chapter 9 of about 40. I'm currently writing chapter 15. So I'm still ahead of myself. Good. Thanks to the reviewers, you guys are my motivation. 

The morning after was the most amazing thing in the world. Yamcha let us have his condo in the desert for a week, and as soon as the party was over, Goten and I swung home, grabbed our clothes, and left.

When the sun rises in the desert, it's the most beautiful scene ever. There are just so many colors reflecting off of the sand. And it's not beach sand. It's more of a reddish color, and not as fine. That's what makes it so beautiful. The sunrise never looks like that back home on the island. 

And waking up in this huge bed with a huge window wrapped up in Goten just added to the perfect-ness of that morning.

He kissed my forehead and smiled. "Good morning, beautiful. How's my favorite wife this morning?"

"Tell your daughter to stop trying to demolish my insides, and maybe I'll be better."

"Wow," he snorted. "You sure know how to ruin a romantic moment. How is my little baby today?" He leaned down and kissed my belly. "Keeping Mommy up all night, are we? What a good little girl."

I smacked him lightly on the head. "So, we have a week in this place. What do you suppose we should do?"

"We could take a walk along the desert. It's just so beautiful here, and I can't wait to check the whole thing out. It's really an amazing thing."

It was, but 'Ten just got so cute when he got all excited like that, so I just smiled and nodded. 

"Hey," I said, "we can do that tomorrow, can't we? Today, I think we should just lie in bed all day. Last night was a killer."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me." He pulled the covers back up to his chin, which made them over my head. I pushed them back down.

"'Ten, guess what?"

He opened one eye and rolled over.

"We're married," I said, before rolling over myself and smiling before I fell asleep.

~

Wedding. Check. Done. Now, next on the list, is telling 'Ten. I was hoping I could hold off until at least March, but it was getting harder by the day. Especially on the honeymoon. So aside from trying to have fun, I spent that week worrying about how to tell him.

So this was my plan as of November 11: tell Goten the truth. Tell him about the kiss, and then my attempts to make it better. Tell him it was all a mistake and I guess just apologize. 

But then I remembered Thanksgiving was coming up, and you don't tell someone that before Thanksgiving, right? And after Thanksgiving is Christmas, and that's just not a very Christmassy thing. And New Year's. You can't say New Year's with an 'I cheated on you'. 

So I kept putting it off, to say the least. But the honeymoon was so beautiful. It was just this wonderful week, just me and 'Ten and no one else. Unless you count the baby. But still. 

And as that week came to an end, and we started packing back up, I realized we'd have to go back to our old, normal, stressful life. And that sucked. 

"Bulma wants me to go in for a sonogram when we get back. She said she wants to see how the baby's doing."

"Okay. Maybe she can prove it's a girl so I can say I told you so. And I can make my mother happy. She wants another little girl."

I snorted. "Well at least your parents aren't first-time grandparents. My father won't stop talking about how she's going to be so smart, and so beautiful and so sweet and peaceful. It's driving me absolutely crazy."

"_Peaceful?_" Goten asked. "Wait, you don't think she should fight? Mar, she's going to be a Son. Think of how strong she can be. Just think Marron, think of what she might be able to do. Don't you want that?"

I sat on the edge of the bed and covered my face with my hands. "I never thought about it."

He sat down next to me. "We're having this baby in five months. I think we should talk about this soon."

"I know I should have thought about it 'Ten, but it's been so hectic with the wedding and everything, I've been too busy to think."

"Hey, calm down babe. We can talk about this. We can do this, don't you think?"

Do this. Do this. Yeah, I was going to do this.

"Goten, I have something important to tell you. About the baby," I started.

He placed his hand over my stomach. "What is it? You didn't have that sonogram already and not tell me, did you? Because I definitely want to be there. I don't think there's nothing else in the world that would make me happier."

Damn. He was going to make it difficult, wasn't he? Maybe this wasn't the time. No, not on our honeymoon. It wasn't the time or place.

"No, I didn't go. There's no way would do that. It's just-- I um, want you to know there's no one else I would ever want to have this baby with. And I'm really happy about this one here. I think she'll do great. Whether she's a fighter or a great peacemaker."

Ick. I was the fakest person alive. It reminded me of that one song, the one that went 'Man will they buy all your lines?' It would only be a matter of time before someone could sense my fakeness. 

~

We got home on a Friday night to find our apartment decorated with balloons and banners and confetti. But no one was there. A note on the kitchen table said our parents came over that morning and did it, and when we went into the bedroom we found a beautiful new white bassinet, filled with stuffed animals, a wedding gift, another note said. 

We also found our refrigerator had been stocked with food. It was definitely a good surprise after being away for a week. I thanked myself again and again for giving Mom and Daddy an extra key to the apartment. 


	11. When You Think Of Names, Don’t Forget To...

Hey people. I've been working overtime on this story, with the planning and drafting and writing and all that. But I think you'll like the upcoming chapters. Until then, here's ten.

"Okay, here is your baby. See, here's the head, and an arm, and that's the stomach," Bulma said as she pointed to a monitor. Right there, in black and white, was our baby. And we could hear its heartbeat.

"So Bulma, was I right? Is it going to be a little Marron or a little Goten?" 'Ten asked.

Bulma smirked as Goten got ready to put on his smug little I-was-right face. "Let's put it this way sweetie. When you think of names, don't forget to put Bulma into consideration." And she walked away.

I smiled. "I guess you were right. Now we can paint the spare room pink."

He gave me a kiss, and then kissed the baby. "We have to go tell everyone now. I'll call our parents and tell them to go meet us at Kame House, you wait here. Oh, and see if you can get those printed out or something. I want to hang them all over the house. First pictures of my daughter, after all. I think we need to put them in your photo album." 

"Of course. Get Gohan and Videl over there too. She _is_ Pan's first cousin. And what's happiness if you can't share it?" I sat up and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. "I think I'll come with you." 

He scooped me up in his arms.

I screamed. "Goten! I have a hospital gown on! My ass is sticking out!" I kicked my legs. "Let me at least get dressed first!"

"Oh fine," he laughed. "I know! I'll call our parents, you get dressed and run over and see if you can tell ol' Briefs. I'm sure he'll want to know."

I nodded. I wandered off into one of the bathrooms and changed. Then I ran down the hall to the house and grabbed one of the phones. Quickly, I tapped out the Capsule Corp. number.

"Trunks Briefs," he answered.

"Meet me at the front desk in the lobby in two minutes." I hung up the phone and practically skipped down to the office building. 

When I got to the lobby and saw him coming out of the elevator, I almost knocked him over.

"Whoa, Mazzie, what's the rush?" he asked, trying to pry me off of him.

I laughed. "Well Trunksie-poo, guess who's having a little girl!" 

"Really? Aw, that's great." His smile faded. "I've been meaning to tell you something." He let go of me and scratched his head. "Um, if she's-- if she's mine, I want you to know I'll do whatever I can to help. I'm not gonna leave you hanging, you know, financially, or anything like that."

"Thanks Trunks. That means a lot. But save your zenni. She's 'Ten's. Think about it. You don't feel any sort of bond with her, do you?"

He shook his head.

"It would be a Sayain bond. You'd be able to feel the baby, and what she's doing. It's a father-child sort of thing. Your dad told me about it. So I'm thinking. And if you don't feel this, than she's not yours. So I think we're safe, for now, at least." I looked down at my stomach. "Piccolo said he knew, but I still have to tell 'Ten. Or else he will, and if 'Ten finds out like that, I don't know what I'll do." 

"Yeah, I kind of know what you mean. But hey, let's not dwell on the bad, I see that husband of yours coming. How about the three of us go and celebrate?" Trunks suggested.

Goten waved as he walked up to us. "Hey Briefs, I'm positive Mar told you the good news."

"She sure did," Trunks said. "Congratulations man. So, how about a pizza, or two?"

I smiled. "Thanks Trunks, but we'll have to take a rain check. We're off to my parents' house. They don't know yet, it's going to be kind of like a surprise. But how about we make plans for tomorrow?" I suggested.

~

"Now what's all this news about?" Goku asked. Our parents were sitting at the kitchen table in Kame House and 'Ten and I were leaning against the counter.

I grinned. "Well, Bulma gave me a sonogram today, and it said that we are going to have a little girl."

"A girl!" Chi-Chi shrieked. "That's so exciting!"

"A girl!" Daddy shrieked. "Now we'll have another little baby girl!"

Goku smiled and Mom looked slightly amused. "Congratulations, you two," she said. 

"Yeah, this is really great you guys," Goku said with his big-ass grin on his face. "Can we eat now?"

~

I saw the old, pre-marriage Goten reemerge one day in the beginning of December. I had just come home from having lunch with my mother, and as soon as I opened the door, Goten screamed out, "Stay there Mar! I have a surprise for you!"

He ran to the door and put his hands over my eyes. "Hi hon, hi baby. Okay, no peeking."

"Where are we going? You didn't destroy the apartment, did you? I kind of want a place to live." He led me somewhere, and when we stopped, he kissed my head.

"Alright, I've been working on this for a while now, when you've been out and sleeping." 'Ten took his hands over my eyes and I gasped.

The spare bedroom we'd been planning to use for the baby's room was totally redone. The walls were this beautiful soft pink color, and the bassinet our parents had given us was placed in the middle of the room, on a white fuzzy throw rug. There were white curtains over the window.

"'Ten," I breathed. "It's beautiful! I can't believe you did this!" I spun around and threw my arms around him. "I love it, and so will the baby."

"I was hoping you would. I know how much you wanted the baby to have a pink nursery, so I got Bulma to hook me up with some paint, and there it was. I just finished it about ten minutes ago, so try not to touch it. I'm gonna go get a fan to put in here to get the smell out."

I followed him. "Hey 'Ten, we don't have a name picked out for her yet. Have any suggestions?"

"Actually," he started, "I've been thinking a lot about Kira. I think it's a pretty name, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's pretty, but I've been thinking more along the lines of Aria. You know, something a little more exotic. And Aria is a little more musical; it kind of rolls off your tongue in this really pretty sort of way, don't you think?" I asked.

He fiddled around in the closet for a fan. "I guess. How about we wait until she's born? Let's make a deal: if she looks like me, we have to name her Kira. If she looks like you, we can name her Aria. How's that?"

I laughed. "It's so nice we can jeopardize our daughter's name like that. How about we name her what feels right? Who knows, in the end we could end up naming her something totally different."

"Yeah. Hey look, I found the fan." He smiled at my stomach. "I'm still gonna call her Kira until she's born. She needs a name after that."


	12. Christmas

I had to write this chapter twice, cause my computer lost it, but that was okay. I liked this one. It was very-- peaceful. Enjoy.

Every year, Bulma threw this huge Christmas party at the Capsule Corp. ballroom. All of her friends and family were invited, as well the entire CC staff. The press usually found their way past Vegeta and snapped pictures for newspapers and tabloids. So, basically, anyone who was anyone was there.

I dragged Bra and Pan with me to every maternity clothing store for miles around until I found something halfway decent to wear. It was this little black dress that had some kind of material that made my bulge look smaller. And then we went to find some cute shoes to match. "But no heels. They'll kill my feet."

As we were getting ready, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom. "Goten," I whined, "look how big I am. Everyone there's going to be all tiny with their little red dresses and their boobs popping out and their cute high heels. I'm lucky I can still see my feet."

"Aw, come on Mar, you're not that big. And plus, it's not your fault you're pregnant. I'm sure you didn't just wake up one morning and think to yourself ' I think I'm going to get pregnant today', did you?"

"No." And it was true. I didn't plan on getting pregnant that early at all. Sure, I wanted children, just under different circumstances and after 'Ten and I were married. 

'Ten leaned in close as he adjusted his jacket. "Let me tell you a little secret. You already know you're going to be the most beautiful person there, but what you don't know is that I think a pregnant woman is the most wonderful thing in the world."

I smiled. "That's sweet baby. Come on, let's roll."

~

I was right, everyone there was thin with short little dresses.

The ballroom was decorated with gold, red, and green and looked absolutely beautiful. Bulma had always out done herself.

"Goten, are you sure I look okay?" I asked, tugging on his hand and feeling lost. Because I had always been so short, and 'Ten so tall, it became a joke how lost I looked next to him.

"You look fine! Just trust me, you look perfectly…" His mouth gaped open and cut off the rest of his sentence. I looked to what had caught his attention.

Trunks had just walked in with the most beautiful girl ever on his arm. She was tall, taller than him, with perfect waist-length, white blonde hair and a tiny red dress that clung like a second skin but didn't look slutty. She also had a flat stomach.

"Son Goten!" I exclaimed. "I thought you were a little more mature than that, let alone married to me!"

Trunks waved as they got closer. "Hey Sons! Wow Mazzie, you look great! You're getting so big!" He looked over to his anorexic date. "This is Kim. Kim, you know Goten, this is his wife, Marron. She's the queen of nicknames; we have like ten for her."

Kim outstretched her hand and I took it reluctantly. "It's so great to finally meet you, Marron. Trunks and Goten have told me so much about you. Congratulations on the baby."

"Thanks," I said with my fake smile. "How long have you been with Trunks?"

Trunks grinned. "Since July," he noted proudly.

__

July? That means he was with her when we-- Oh man. That meant that we'd be hurting more than Goten in the process of telling the truth.

"July? Wow Briefs, that's like a record for you," 'Ten joked. 

~

"Do you think she's close enough to him?" I asked sarcastically as I watched Kim wrap her arms around Trunks as they danced.

'Ten laughed. "Someone's a tad bitchy tonight. She is a little… clingy, though."

I stood up from where we had been sitting drinking non-alcoholic beer. Goten agreed that as long as I couldn't drink, he wouldn't either. Damn non-alcoholic beer. Seriously, what's the fun in that? "I'm going to go ask him to dance so she'll stop trying to molest him." I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun. But don't expect me to stay away from her. That red dress is doing her some good tonight," he murmured, leaning back to find her. 

I gave him a playful smack before leaving. 

"Hey Briefs, time to dance with the pregnant lady," I chirped, pulling him away from his big-breasted bimbo.

Trunks flashed Kim a smile. "I'll only be a minute. It's the pregnant lady," he said in way of an apology. We stepped onto the dance floor. "So what do you think of Kim?"

"I think you should have told me. I only found out about her because Bra and Goten told me. And you were with her in July! When we… when we… you know!" I hissed.

"I know, I should have told you. But she's been in Europe since August, and I couldn't find a right time to tell you," he explained. "This is just going to hurt her so much, and I don't know how to tell you. I know you probably wouldn't understand---"

"You **_dumbass_**!" I yelled. "I wouldn't understand? I have to tell my _husband_ his baby might not be his! This is going to be a thousand times harder for me than you. All you did is donate some sperm. I ruined a marriage!"

He motioned for me to be quiet. "I'm sorry. It's just going to be hard for me. I really like her, you know?"

"Do you love her?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"I'm not sure. It's hard. After that night we had, she got a job offer for a modeling job for five months in Europe. I told her to take it, so I could sort this mess out without her. That's why you haven't seen her around. She just got back about three weeks ago. I've just been trying to forget what happened, Mar, I really have," he said softly.

I smiled as the song ended and I pulled away. "Thanks for the dance, Trunks. Just promise me you'll tell Kim when I tell Goten so they won't find out from each other." That would be the _last_ thing I needed.

"Of course. You take care of yourself and that baby and especially that husband of yours. Every second you spend with him could influence his decision later," Trunks advised.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. You go have fun with your girlfriend. I'm going to go and dance with my husband. Who knows when the next time he'll be able to fit his arms around me will be," I joked, letting go of his hand.

He waved. "You'll be fine. Just remember that boy loves you too much to do anything stupid. And if you really want to know, you're going to make it, Marron. You are a strong one."

Too bad I couldn't believe him. 


	13. The Truth Hurts Sometimes

This chapter was so hard to write, but I did it anyway. It's Marron's day. Thanks to my reviewers, I love you all.

Through the next month and a half, I tried and tried to make the most amazing time for 'Ten and I. I knew the due date was drawing closer and closer, and I didn't have enough time to screw around and think of exactly what to say. The truth was enough for him to handle.

So I made as pleasant an environment as possible for us to live in. I couldn't sacrifice anything. 

I'll never forget the day in February when I woke up and told myself I would do it. I told myself I would tell 'Ten the truth. But I wanted one more day.

I made the most of that day. We spent it on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket looking out the window at the rain and talking. We talked about everything from the past to the future, and the things in between.

That was one of the best rainy days I'd had in a long time, and when dinner was over and we had cleaned up the dishes, my stomach started churning and I'd wished I hadn't eaten so much.

I watched Goten intently as he dried the dishes. Just the way he was so gentle with each dish, holding it so carefully as he wiped the towel over it. And that made me wonder if that was what he would be like with our child. I have no idea why, but it did.

When the kitchen was clean and the rain fell down through the night sky, I locked myself in the bathroom for a moment. I splashed cold water in my face and stared at my reflection in the mirror. What exactly was I going to do? _This would be a whole lot easier if I didn't love him so much_, I thought to myself bitterly. Well, Ronnie, it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath and mustering up all the strength I had inside my pregnant body, I left the bathroom and sat back down in the living room. 

"Goten, I need to tell you something very important. About the baby," I started, ignoring the tears that were threatening to form in the back of my eyes.

"What's up babe?" he asked as he set down his glass of soda.

I took in a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair. "Do you--- do you know how much I love you?"

He smirked. "You've made it known a few times."

"Don't make a joke about this, please Goten. I love you so much, it hurts. If I were to be without you, I would die. You are the most amazing person I know, and you have so much love in your heart." I started crying.

Goten put his arm around me. "Marron, what's going on? Is everything okay?"

"I don't want to hurt you for anything in this universe. But I've been keeping this from you for so long, and I can't stand it anymore. Do you remember that weekend over the summer when we had Pan for the weekend, and Bra and Trunks ended up spending the night? The next day, when I woke up, Trunks was already awake, and I went to go look for him. He was on the balcony off of our bedroom, and when I went to go say good morning to him, he said some things and then he-- he kissed me."

"He _what_?" Goten spat. "What the hell was he thinking? Why did you wait so long to tell me this?"

"Stop. Let me finish, Goten, please." I wiped a stubborn tear from my cheek. "About two or three weeks later, when I said I had some errands to run, I went over to Trunks' apartment. We talked for a minute or two, and then we… I… he… we slept together," I choked out, now fully crying. 

Goten stared at me in disbelief. "What… I don't understand."

I buried my face in my hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. 

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, Marron. Why the fuck would you do something like that? That's not my Marron." His voice would switch on and off from a yell to a normal tone to a shaky stutter. "How…" his voice trailed off and I looked up to see tears in his eyes. "Why?"

"I don't know, Goten. But there's more."

"There's more?! Fuck this Marron! I don't want to sit here and listen to you tell me how you had sex with Trunks!" he yelled.

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and cry, but every time I would try and lift my hands up, the tears in his eyes would make mine fall even harder, and I didn't think I had the energy to hug him. "The baby… Kira, or Aria, or whatever we're naming her… she might not be yours," I whispered.

He broke down and started sobbing. The last time I had seen Goten cry, he was seven. "The baby? How could you let me believe I was going to be a father, and let me say all those things, and then you sit here and take it all back? Why would you do that to me?"

"I wasn't thinking… I didn't know what I was thinking, and when it was all over, all I could think about how I had let you down, and how I had been so awful to you. Even at the wedding---"

"The wedding!" he cut me off. "I married you and you had done that to me? How in the world could you let me marry you?"

"I tried to tell you, but it was so hard, and I love you so much, and I didn't know what to do, Goten, I swear! I would give my life not to hurt you at all, but I didn't know what I was doing!"

He stood up and I froze over with fear. "I have to get out of here."

My worst nightmare was becoming reality. "No, please Goten, don't leave me, please," I begged.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you slept with Trunks," he said bitterly. 

I stood up. "I'm seven months pregnant Goten! You're just going to leave me here? What about when she's born? What are you going to do?"

"Why don't we cross that bridge when we come to it, Marron," he said softly as he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

I started one of those sobs that shake your whole body, and you can't breathe, but you have to cry, but you don't have the energy. And I didn't know what to do.

When you don't know what to do, you tend to call your parents.

Somehow, I made my way to the phone and shakily dialed out my parents' number.

Daddy answered and recognized my sobs right away. "What's wrong Marron? Is everyone okay?"

"I need you to come pick me up Daddy, please. I'll tell you everything then, I just can't stay here tonight."

I hung up the phone and buried my face in my hands. So much for telling the truth. Who knew how long Goten would be gone. And I was seven months pregnant for Dende's sake! I managed to pack some clothes and set some of my stuff in a bag before Mom and Daddy landed their air car in the parking lot.

"Are you okay firefly?" Daddy asked as I stepped into the car.

I wiped a tear from my eye. "It's a long story." I drew in a deep breath and told them my story.

Daddy's eyes got wider each time one of my secrets popped out, and Mom already knew, so she wasn't as surprised. But one fact surprised even her.

"He _left_ you? Seven months pregnant?" she asked incredulously, also known as slightly surprised.

They took me back to Kame House and sat with me in my old room, staring out at the rain hit the ocean and saying sweet little comforting things. But I couldn't stop crying.

"Marron, this isn't good for you. You have to calm down. Too much stress with hurt the baby," Mom warned.

"Yeah, your mother's right Mar, just try and relax. Why don't you get some sleep? I think that'll do you some good," Daddy suggested.

I looked at him like I did when I was a little girl and sniffed. "You won't leave me, will you Daddy?"

Mom opened her mouth to say something, but Daddy shot her a glance. "Of course not Marron. Just try and stop crying and get some rest. This baby can't afford to have so much stress put onto it."

I nodded before snuggling into the bed and closing my eyes. But every time I tried to fall asleep, a crying Goten flashed in front of me, and I heard his cracking voice over and over. It was a good three hours before I fell asleep. 


	14. The Morning After

This chapter was hard to write, though I don't know why. Enjoy and review. (And LL, Aaron is NOT going to leave you at the altar! And even if he does, I'll kick his ass!)

I woke up the next morning and automatically wished that last night had been a dream, a horrible nightmare. Hell, I wished the past seven months had been a nightmare, and if I had my way, it would still be July, and I could take everything back.

Somehow I dragged myself out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen. My head was absolutely pounding and I was hungry and my eyes were itchy from crying so much.

I fished around in the cupboard for a bottle of aspirin for my head.

"Good morning Marron," I heard Grandpa Roshi's voice from the doorway.

I spun around. "Morning Grandpa," I mumbled. I popped two pills in my mouth and filled a glass of water.

"I suspect you did not sleep well, as I heard you tossing and turning through the night. I'll leave you with this piece of advice." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though you messed up, Goten loves you enough to come back. And if he doesn't, then he never really loved you in the first place." He walked away.

I stood there for a moment, just thinking about what he'd said, when Daddy walked into the kitchen.

He smiled at me. "How'd you sleep baby girl? I hope it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Do you want some breakfast?"

I nodded. "I don't want to eat, but the baby does. She's so freakin' persistent." I put my hand on my stomach and felt as Goten's daughter kicked. "You wanna feel her Daddy? Give me your hand."

I watched his eyes soften as he moved his hand around my stomach. "A grandfather," Daddy said softly to himself. "It's nice to see a pregnant woman again. It's been too long. Listen Marron, I talked to Bulma last night after you fell asleep, and Trunks is going to stop by today. So why don't you go take a shower and freshen up."

"I should, but I don't have the energy to. Do I look all that terrible?" I asked, running a hand through my knotty hair. 

He shook his head and I started back to bed. And there I sat, thinking about how everything had gone wrong. Isn't it ironic how when you do the right thing, you always end up hurting yourself and someone around you? Maybe if I had done the wrong thing, I'd be in bed next to 'Ten right now. But then, Piccolo would tell him, and I couldn't have that.

I ended up falling asleep for another hour or so from my pure exhausted-ness. And when I woke up, I ended up staring out the window and fiddling with my wedding ring; an annoying habit I inherited from my mother. Whenever she doesn't know what to do with herself, she twirls her wedding band around her finger.

I was snapped out of my daydreaming by a knock at the door, and I quickly rubbed my eyes before the person came in. It was Trunks with a grocery bag in his hand.

"I come bearing gifts," he smiled, leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek. He reached into his bag. "Potato chips, chocolate bars, some soda, and I think you'll need these now, tissues." 

I took them gratefully and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "He left Trunks. Goten left me. What am I going to do?" I had a feeling I was going to need those tissues soon…

He sat down next to me. "He'll be back Maz, you know he will. And if it makes you feel any better, I told Kim this morning and she slapped me and told me she never wanted to see me again."

"Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry. Was it really that bad?"

"Not really. That's not your problem, though. How was telling Goten?" he asked.

I groaned and reached for a tissue. "He cried. Goten was _crying_. And I know he's mad at you, and he wanted to know how I could take away the one thing he was sure about. I don't know how much of this I can take, Trunks. Look at me! Look what one night without Goten has done to me! How am I supposed to survive if this is going to become the rest of my life?" I asked, raising my voice slightly, hoping I wasn't going to wake my mother up.

Trunks knelt next to my bed and put his finger over his lips in a quiet motion. "Listen to me Marron, and listen carefully. You cannot take the loser way out. Think of what's coming your way. You're going to have this beautiful little girl in two months. You're going to have the most beautiful baby girl on this whole planet. If you're not going to survive for you, survive for her."

Why is it that everything you don't want to hear always makes sense? And since when had Trunks become the voice of wisdom? Damn him for making sense!

The phone rang and Mom appeared at my doorway. "Your husband's on the phone," she told me icily. I could see how pissed off she was.

"Goten's on the phone?" I asked hopefully. I grabbed the phone next to my bed. "Goten?" I whispered.

There was a pause. "Hey," he said softly. 

I started crying all over again. "Oh Goten! I'm so sorry! If I could just explain myself a little better, I'm sure you would understand everything and I'm sure we could work things out--"

"That's what I called about," he interrupted with a sigh. "I'm sorry for walking out on you last night, it was just… so hard, you know? I want to work things out; I want to make things better. I need some time, though. I can't do this right away. So if you'd be willing to wait for a while, I think we may be able to save this."

I gave Trunks a full smile and my heart jumped. "Do you really mean that, Goten? Do you really want to work things out?"

"Yeah, I do. What we have Mar, it's really great. And even though I may never be able to forget what you did, I may be able to move on. Just give me a little bit of time, and we can talk about it," he said.

"Um, how much time?" I asked meekly.

Another pause. "I--I don't know. Just… trust me. I'll talk to you soon."

"Right. Soon," I repeated slowly, as if a child. Child. "What about the baby, Goten? What are we going to do then?"

"We'll get to that when we come to it. I have to go, um, my mother wants me to go and pick some things up for her," he stammered.

I swallowed and gripped the blanket next to me. "Don't let me keep you. Take care of yourself."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye." I cradled the phone in my hand for a moment. "I think, Trunks," I said, tearing up, "I think I've just ruined my marriage."

Trunks wrapped an arm around me and I cried.


	15. Home Again, Home Again

Thanks to you all, mucho, mucho love.

I stayed with my parents for another week or so until I got the courage to go back to our apartment. I made Trunks and Bra come with me to make sure I wasn't going to totally break down and put too much stress on myself.

They brought me home one afternoon, the both of them carrying my stuff, saying I was far too pregnant to be moving things. They helped me cook lunch and when I went past the baby's room, I noticed they had set up the crib and the changing table.

"You know how unpredictable Goten is," Trunks said cheerfully. "Who knew when he would have time to do it."

Bra laughed and added, "True. I mean, 'Ten has always been full of surprises."

It had seemed so fake. They way Trunks and Bra were talking, it sounded like Goten was just another husband away on another business trip. I knew they were trying to cheer me up, but they should have done it in a way that wasn't so-- so unreal.

Not that I was ungrateful or anything.

"Bra, do you think you could spend the night with me?" I asked quietly. "I just don't think I can spend the night alone."

"Of course I will. We'll make another night out of it. You know, like last…" Bra's voice stopped abruptly, as she remembered what happened last time.

I smiled weakly and looked down at my hands, since I could no longer see my feet. "It's okay B," I reassured. I turned so I was facing both her and Trunks. "I know you guys are trying to keep my mind off Goten and what happened, and I really appreciate it, but I'm okay. I'm never going to forget about it, although I want to. The only thing I can do now is wait. And I'd like it of you will wait with me."

Trunks nodded. "You're right Ron, we shouldn't have tried to make you forget. I only wish I could knock some sense into him. I feel so responsible for this whole mess," he said, somewhat guiltily. His eyes shifted downwards to my stomach.

"Hey guys," Bra piped up, "what are we going to do if the baby isn't Goten's? Not that I'm wishing it is, but you have to admit, it _is_ a possibility. I don't know how _I_ would explain it to Goten, if it was me."

"You're right. I do need a plan. What's the nurse going to say? 'Congratulations Mr. Son, she's not yours.' Do you think he'd want anything to do with me then?" I asked. I ran my hands over my belly, as if having my hands close to the baby would give me some answers.

"It's not my baby," Trunks insisted. "Trust me, I would know if it was. Listen, do you remember when I had been dating that girl Kei, and she was pregnant, and she didn't know if the baby was mine or not? Well, I knew the baby wasn't mine. With a Sayain, you just know these things. It's sort of like a sixth sense."

Does Trunks always get into these situations, you may ask yourself. The answer, sadly, is yes. Trunks is a one-night-stand-get-the-girl-pregnant-or-so-you-think type of guy.

I sat there in silence, twirling my wedding ring around my finger. I could give Goten time until the baby was born, but forever? There was no way I could just throw away our marriage like that. Okay, I know I was the one who completely 

fucked things up, but still. I had thought 'Ten and I were stronger than that.

~

For the rest of February and March, I tried to piece together what I had. I prepared to give birth and have a baby around. Which mean I had to childproof the apartment, buy diapers, clothes, bottles, bibs, and toys, and plan for the actual birth day.

Mom and Bulma knew I just wasn't up for a baby shower, and so they skipped that part. I could have used one for the gifts though. Buying all that stuff myself had really taken its toll on my expenses.

Mom and Daddy decided when it was time, I'd call them and they'd come get me and drive me to the hospital. They'd call everyone when we got there and I was situated.

By the end of March, I was so big, it wasn't even funny. The clothes I had worn only a month before were too tight, and sometimes I wondered if my feet were still there. I'd waddle around, complaining to myself about how my back hurt, or how those stretch marks were going to stay there or a long time. Complaining to yourself isn't as fun as complaining to the person who got you into that position in the first place.

It was hard to wake up each morning alone, swimming in the blankets by myself, Goten's arms not wrapped around me. I missed the soft kisses he used to live on my belly each morning as I woke up.

I didn't blame or resent Goten for leaving, I was just regretful that I hadn't been honest from the start. Maybe if I had told Goten about the kiss when it happened, we could have worked things out back in July, and we either would have been anxiously waiting for the baby or preparing for our April wedding.

But maybe if I had told him about the kiss in July, he would have been mad at me back then, and I might have had to do a lot more on my own. But I guess I'll never know…

As March came and went, and April began, I thought more about that. I guess that's why condoms had been invented.

But back to April.

As I came to the startling realization that at any given moment, I could be pushing a child out of my vagina, I came to the conclusion that I knew absolutely nothing about being a mother. Sure, I had baby-sat for Bra and Pan years before, but watching a couple of ten year olds for a day and providing for a baby were completely different things.

So you wouldn't believe how scared I was in mid-April when I was standing in the kitchen and my water broke.


	16. The Birth

Here's the birth! I'm sick, so my notes will be short. Enjoy.

I gulped in a breath of air and waddled over to the phone and tapped out my parents' number as fast as I could. My heart raced as it rang once… twice…

"Hello?" Daddy answered. 

"Daddy!" I squealed. "My water just broke! I'm going to have the baby now!"

"Oh my… Juu! Juu! Get the car ready! Okay sweetheart, we'll be there as soon as possible," he assured.

I ran my hands through my hair and tried to breath as I paced through the living room, my head swarming with thoughts. But one thing popped into my head that made me feel stupid, as I hadn't thought of it before.

Goten!

Thinking I had a minute, I grabbed the phone and quickly dialed Goten's cell number.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"My water just broke. My parents are on their way here to take me to the hospital. Don't have time to talk, I'll be at Satan City General," I blurted out.

He coughed. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it. I have some plans today."

I felt as though I had been slapped in the face. "You have _plans_? Do you realize your daughter is going to be born today and you can't make it because you have _plans_? If that's the way you're going to act, Son Goten, then you're a bigger asshole than I ever imagined!" I yelled.

"Wait a second, Marron. Do you think I'm going to rearrange my schedule so I can watch you give birth to Trunks' baby?" he yelled back.

"For the thousandth time, _it is not Trunks' baby_!" I screeched. "And even if it was, your wife is going to give birth! I think it would only be the right thing to do!"

Mom walked through the door and cleared her throat. "Are we going to go to the hospital or are we going to sit here and yell all day?" she asked, somewhat annoyed that I was on the phone.

"You know what Goten? I'm going to the hospital to have your baby now. And if you don't care, then she's better off without you!" I slammed the phone down and let the tears overflow my eyes. "Come on, let's go have a baby."

"That's the spirit," Mom muttered sarcastically. Mom's sarcasm was not appreciated at that moment, and for the first time in my life, I glared at her.

"You don't need him," she said, in her way of apologizing. 

I ran out of the apartment and into my parents' car. "Come on Daddy, let's go before I have the baby in the car."

Mom nodded. "And before you start having contractions."

"Contract--" A sharp pain jolted through my stomach and I screamed. "Damn pregnancy. Why aren't men pregnant? Then I can tell Goten I have plans and couldn't go see our daughter be born."

We finally made it to the hospital and they took me to one of those scary white rooms. Mom came with me while Daddy went to make some phone calls. They put me up in a bed and Mom sat next to me in a chair, trying not to touch anything. Did I mention we are _not_ hospital people?

A doctor came in, and as soon as he was done, and I was ready to go into the delivery room, he told me otherwise. "You're not quite ready yet, Mrs. Son. We have to wait some more."

"More? No way. I am not waiting any longer. My water broke and everything," I whined. This baby was going to come out. And she was going to do it at that very moment. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I'll be back to check up on you in another few minutes." He left the scary room and Trunks ran in in his absence.

"Hey Mar, are you okay?" he asked as he ran in and kissed me on the cheek.

I pouted. "They say I'm not ready yet. And Goten's not coming. And I want to see my feet again Trunks! This is not fair!" I tugged on his tie and adjusted the blankets on my scary hospital bed.

Daddy came in with Bulma and Bra at his heels. "How are we doing? Any babies yet?" he asked.

"No," Mom answered. "We have to wait a while, the man said." My mother never said the word _doctor_ for as long as I could remember. It was probably the only thing she was afraid of.

"Do you want me to call Goten for you, Ronnie?" Bra asked. "Maybe I can try and convince him to come."

"That would be great, B, thanks," I smiled forcefully. If anyone's mouth was big enough to convince Goten to do anything, it was Bra's.

I heard yelling coming from the hallway and everyone shut up to hear what was going on.

"But Goten, it's not just anybody! It's Marron… I know she hurt you but this is your daughter. It's a once in a lifetime experience… Don't you think she needs you here?… She wants you here… Please, Goten, do it for the baby, if no one else… Just think about it… If you don't show up, Son Goten, I will from this day forward consider you the biggest asshole in the universe!" A doctor yelled at her and she hung up the phone. "Sorry Ron, I tried."

The doctor came back in and had another look. "Okay Mrs. Son, I think we're ready. I'll take you to the delivery room, but you can only have one person in there with you. Which one's the father?"

"My husband… isn't here right now." I looked around at everyone. "Well Trunks, you had your share in this process. Come on, you're going to help me have this thing."

Trunks gave me a look. "Maz, you know you're my best friend, and I'd do anything for you, but, I don't know…"

"You don't have to know. Alright doc, let's go have this thing."

~

After an hour of tremendous pain, I finally was able to get her out. She was absolutely beautiful, with a full head of black hair and big blue eyes. I was holding her when Mom came in the room.

"What's her name?" she asked, as she sat down next to me.

I looked up with tears in my eyes. "Her name is Kira. Goten wanted to name her Kira."

Kira opened her eyes lazily and looked up and me and Mom. 

"She looks like Goten," Mom commented as she took her from me and cradled her gently. 

"Does she?" a voice came from the doorway. Goten stood there, a sad look on his face. "Sorry I'm late. Can I come in?"

Mom handed Kira back to me and stood up. "I'll leave you two alone."

"Yeah, sure. Here, meet your daughter."

He walked in and sat next to me. "She's beautiful. Look Mar, I'm really sorry. I guess I'm still just a little upset, you know? Can I hold her?"

I smiled and nodded. "I named her Kira for you. She looks like you, after all. I'm sorry, too. For everything I've done. I don't blame you for not being here today. I only want you to promise me one thing." 

"What's that?"

"Promise me you'll be in her life. I think she'll like that."

Goten kissed Kira on the forehead and nodded. "I wouldn't think any other way."

__

Maybe things won't be so bad, I thought as I smiled at our daughter. _Maybe the worst is over._


	17. Meet The Sons

And then there were 16...

I was a mother. It was the scariest thought ever. 

Kira came home two days after she was born, and I could just look at her as she slept and think, that was what ruined my marriage. Then I wanted to smack myself. That was an awful thought. _I_ ruined my marriage, not her. She had no idea what was going on.

Then I thought of how much I had let her down. I just hadn't let Goten down, and his whole family down, but I had let Kira down. If I hadn't been such an asshole, she could be in the arms of her father at that very moment. And the fact that I had let her down more than anyone broke my heart. How could I do that to someone so unbelievably helpless and beautiful?

So I decided to make things right, once and for all. I got up the guts to get into a car again, and took Kira with me. I think that was the first act of stupid motherhood I did. Bringing my newborn daughter with me while I drove a car for the first time. I hoped that wasn't a preview of things to come. 

Anyway, I drove up to Goku and Chi-Chi's house, where I knew Goten was staying. Well, he was either there or at Gohan and Videl's, so I figured I had a good shot of finding him up there. 

I guess I didn't realize exactly how nervous I was until I was at the door with Kira in my arms. I was visibly shaking as I knocked on the door. _Please don't let it be Chi-Chi, please Dende._ I never had a problem with Chi-Chi in my entire life. But since she raised both of her boys, she is very protective over them. It was sort of like the hurt-them-I'll-hurt-you. My mother was that way with me, and Bulma was that way with Trunks and Bra, and Videl was that way with Pan. Chi-Chi just never grew out of it. 

But Dende was _finally_ on my side. Goku answered the door and smiled at me in a very soft, gentle, welcoming, comforting way that just made me feel a whole lot better. 

"Hi Marron," he greeted softly. "Come on in." He glanced down at my arms. "Oh! Is this the baby?"

"Yes," I smiled, "this is Kira." I handed her to Goku. I don't know why, but something about Goku holding a baby always looked so _right_. I guess it's because he's such a gentle person. I hadn't seen Goku hold a baby since… since, well Pan was born, and since that was so long ago, I don't really remember it that well. 

"Oh wow. She's so beautiful, Marron. Kira. Well, look at those eyes. Your eyes, that's for sure. Goten's over next door having lunch with Gohan, but I can get him over here for you." He bounced Kira up and down as he started out the front door. "I'm sure Gohan and Videl would love to meet this little one here. Chi-Chi went grocery shopping." He began to walk through the yard.

"Um, are you sure it's a good idea to go over there, Goku? I mean, someone could still be mad at me or something," I rambled nervously. I was very scared about facing the rest of the Son family. Goku wouldn't hold a grudge against me because I'm Krillin's daughter, but the rest of them… I never knew. 

Goku smiled at Kira and nodded his head. "Don't worry about them. They only know Goten's side of the story. And who wouldn't want to meet this precious little baby?" he asked in a baby voice. 

I followed him, scared shitless, to Gohan and Videl's front door. But they couldn't murder the mother of a newborn, could they? That would just be wrong.

Goku opened the front door and smiled. "Hey guys!" he called out. "Look who I found!"

I heard chairs scuff against the kitchen floor and Gohan, Videl, Pan, and Goten walk into the living room. Goten saw me and froze. His face turned white, and I gave him a small smile. When I saw Pan, my heart broke. I hadn't seen her in two months, and I had missed her like crazy.

"Goten, I met your daughter. She's the sweetest little thing," Goku said, rocking Kira around, showing her to his sons. "You didn't tell me she looked so much like you!"

"Yeah, well, it didn't come up," Goten muttered, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

Pan peered into her grandfather's arms. "Can I hold her, Maz?" she asked, giving me our secret code. After we had our first fight years before, we decided if we ever fought again, and one of us forgave the other, we would scratch the top of our head, then the tip of our nose.

I shot her a secret smile and nodded. Then I turned to Gohan, who had his arm on Videl's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. 

"Do you want some coffee, Marron?" Videl asked. "You look a little tired."

I smiled thankfully at her. "Yes, thanks. This little one doesn't know how to sleep all night." We walked into the kitchen together, me very happy that she wasn't going to throw me out of her house.

"Can I ask you a question? What exactly is going on with you and Goten? I don't mean to pry, but Goten doesn't really want to talk about it, and, well, I--"

"I understand. But really, Videl, I wish I knew myself. He told me at the hospital he wanted to be in Kira's life, but I don't think he was telling the truth. As much as it hurts, I have to respect the fact that I hurt him," I said sadly, staring into my coffee.

Videl sat silent for a moment, until 'Ten came in with Kira in his arms.

"Marron, can we talk in the bedroom or something?" he asked quietly.

I nodded and we walked to Pan's bedroom and sat down on her bed. "What's up?" I asked, taking Kira from him and fixing the blanket she was wrapped in.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you I needed time, and you coming here to flaunt the baby around is _not_ giving me the time I need! Is that so hard for you understand?"

"Well excuse me if I wanted _our_ daughter to meet her family! I thought maybe I was doing the right thing! If I hadn't brought her over here, you'd be bitching about that, too!" I retorted. I couldn't believe this- _this_ - was my sweet Goten. Something inside him had changed, that was for sure.

"I am not bitching. You're the one who went back on our deal. I need more time," he muttered through clenched teeth. 

Could this really be him? Could my Goten be telling me to go away and leave him alone? I lowered my head. "I don't know if I can give you more time," I whispered. "These past two months have been exceptionally hard on me, and I've just missed you more than I could ever imagine missing someone. And now, now that Kira's born, I just thought that maybe you loved her- and me - enough that you would decide that you didn't need anymore time. I guess I figured you, of all people, couldn't stay away from your family for that long," I whispered.

I felt a strong arm wrap itself around my shoulders. And that arm just felt so good; it felt so good to be held by Goten again. 

"I do love Kira, and you, but you hurt me, Marron. You really did. And I know you tried to do the right thing by telling me the truth, and I'm glad you did tell me. I'd rather hear it from you than from Trunks when he got too drunk, or someone else. But no matter if you did the right thing or not, it still hurts. It hurts to know that you would do something like that." He opened his arms and I carefully fell back into him.

I wished someone would just freeze time right there, right with the three of us sitting there, so perfectly. 

__

Click. I saw a flash and Pan ran out of the room, a camera in her hand.

I laughed. "If we don't stay together for anyone else, 'Ten, let it be for her. Please, just let it be for her."

"I can't promise you anything, Mar. I can only tell you that I love you, and I love Kira, and I want to make this work."

I stood up. "I should go home. I wasn't even supposed to take her out of the house. Maybe you can stop by for dinner or something sometime?"

He smiled at me and held his arms out for Kira. "Let me hold her before you leave. I want to say good-bye." 

As Goten sat down with Kira in his arms and whispered words to her, I was bought back to the day he left me. When he was drying the dishes, and I was thinking about how gentle he was with each dish, and I wondered if he would be like that with the baby. Everything I thought was absolutely true. 

He gave Kira a final kiss on the head. "She's beautiful."

"I know. I'll talk to you soon, and you stop by and see her soon, okay?"

"We'll see what's going on."

"Bye Goten."

"Bye Marron."

As I left that day, I had no idea exactly how long I would be saying good-bye for. I had just hoped it would only be for a day or so.

"Isn't your daddy something special, Kira?"

I swear she smiled.


	18. The End Of An Era

And here would be 17. I apologize for Goten's behavior. As Asanra put it, he was simply being a prick. Enjoy.

I didn't talk to Goten for the next five months. I figured if he needed his space, I would give him his space. So I attempted to raise Kira on my own. 

When Goten left, so did the money Chi-Chi was supplying us with from the stash she had. Ever since she had been fighting in tournaments, and then the boys, she had been putting money away, along with the money her father was giving her.

My parents helped out as much as they could, but there was no way that I could support myself and Kira with no money. So my parents offered to watch Kira while I worked.

"Are you sure Mom?" I asked I got in the car to go to my first day of work. I had got a job at this coffee place downtown.

"Yes, I'm positive. Now go before you're late on your first day," she said with her arms crossed.

Daddy smiled as he waved Kira's hand. "This isn't the first time we've had a baby, you know. We raised you, and look how you turned out."

"Okay. Bye Kira, Mommy loves you," I blew her a kiss before shutting the door and leaving. It had been the first time I had ever been away from her, and it was tearing me apart. Five solid months of never leaving her side for more than a few hours did not exactly prepare me for this.

The place I was working at was called Morning Start, and it was this little coffee house near Satan City General, not too far from Capsule Corp. Trunks had wanted me to work with him, but I knew I couldn't do that.

"Trunks, how I am I ever supposed to support myself and my daughter still mooching off your money? I'm never going to meet people who aren't children of my father's friends if I don't take this job and get out on my own! I have to show Goten I don't need him. I need to prove that I can take care of myself. I'm twenty-five years old for Dende's sake!" I had shouted at him.

So I made my journey out into the world of business and commerce, with my hair in a really cute ponytail and my heart breaking over leaving my daughter behind. But I trusted my parents. Very much so.

Driving wasn't a problem for me anymore. I figured if I could give birth, I could really do anything. I love Kira with all my heart, she is my world, but she has a big head. It's a Son head. I have no idea how Chi-Chi did it twice.

But enough about heads.

When I got to Morning Start, I took a deep breath and smiled. This was the new Marron. Marron the mother. Marron the responsible woman who was ready to take responsibility for her actions. Marron who didn't need Goten, no matter how much her mind screamed it. Marron who was going to do this.

I pulled the glass door open and smiled at the girl behind the counter I had met a few days before. Her name was Mia, and she was really pretty; tall, with short brown hair and dark eyes.

"Hi Marron, how are you this morning?" she asked in a very perky voice. I guess when you work in a coffee house for long enough, you just become naturally perky.

"I'm good, thanks. So where do I start?"

~

After nine straight hours of making coffee, wiping counters, and punching numbers into the cash register, I was unbelievably exhausted. 

"Okay Mia, I'm out of here. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Marron."

I poured myself a cup of coffee in one of those Styrofoam cups and left. _Day one in the life of a moneymaking woman results: success_, I thought as I started the car. 

~

I slowly crept into Kame House and made my way to the kitchen. Mom was feeding Kira and Daddy was cooking dinner. "Kira!" I squealed, lifting her out of her high chair and holding her close to me. I had baby food smeared on my shirt, but I didn't care. "Oh Mommy missed you today, sweetie."

"How was work, Mar?" Daddy asked, fishing another plate out of the cupboard.

I rocked Kira around the kitchen. "I've poured about six thousand cups of coffee, wiped counters, and pretty much wanted to leave all day. Work sucks," I said, sitting down and setting Kira on the kitchen table.

"You know, I was feeding her before you came in," Mom muttered. "And I think she wants to finish."

"Fine. Here you go, baby. Back to Grandma." I sniffed the air. "Smells really good, Daddy. You're cooking dinner for me?"

Mom and Daddy exchanged a look. "Marron, something happened today we think you should know about."

Never a good thing. I swallowed hard. "Is Kira okay?"

"Kira's fine," Daddy said. "Goten called over here looking for you. He said he needed to talk to you. Maybe you should go call him."

I managed a weak smile. "You know what?" I asked softly. "I think we should get going home. It's been a long day for the both of us. Thanks, you two are a big help." I stood up and gave my parents each a kiss on the cheek. I lifted Kira up and grabbed the nearby diaper bag off the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Mom ran a paper towel over the table. "Don't give in, whatever you do. Make him come back to you, not the other way around."

I nodded slowly as I left.

~

Why would he just call out of the blue after five months of nothing? Did he honestly think I did nothing except sit on my ass and wait for him? Well, I did, but still. 

So I sat down on the bed, Kira lying next to me, the phone in my hands, and sat there. "Kira, if you were me, would you call him?" I asked.

She giggled and rolled over. 

"I'll take that as a yes." I tapped out Goten's cell number and motioned for the laughing baby to be quiet. It rang three times before I got an answer.

"Marron?"

"That's me. What's going on? My dad told me you called," I said, silently wondering where my voice was coming from. Even if Goten only said one word, my heart still thumped out of my chest.

"Nothing really. I just wanted to see how you and Kira were doing. I bet she's getting big. Is she there? Can I talk to her for a second?"

I smiled. "Yeah, hold on one second. I'll tell you when to start." I wrapped my hand over the mouthpiece. "Alright Kira, your daddy's on the phone. Make sure you let him know how much we love him and want him to come home." I turned the volume button on the phone all the way up and held the phone a little way away from Kira's ear, so (one) the volume wouldn't hurt her and (two) so I could hear what Goten was saying. "Okay 'Ten."

"Hi Kira. How're you doing, baby? I bet you're getting so big now. You're probably really pretty like your mommy. I just wanted to let you know something. Even though I'm not there, I'm thinking about you here, and so are your grandparents. And your aunt and uncle, they can't wait to see you again. Maybe your mommy will bring you here for your cousin Pan's birthday. You'll love Pan. I love you a lot, baby girl. And I promise, I'll come visit you soon. I know your stubborn mother is listening, (Kira giggled) so give the phone back to her now. I'll talk to you soon Kira. Bye baby girl."

Kira placed her hands on the phone and tried to bring it to her mouth, as if to kiss it. 

I took the phone away from her. "Goten, what are we doing? When I told you I'd give you time, I didn't mean seven months. Now. I want an answer now. Are you going to come back to me, or are you going to end it?" Tears squeezed out the edge of my eyes.

"I love you," he whispered.

"But?"

"But you hurt me. And you were the one person that I knew would never do that to me. If I can't trust you, Marron, who _can_ I trust? I've been thinking, yes, for seven months now, and part of me wants to just say screw it, and run home to you. But the other part keeps bringing back the pain. I think if you had slept with some random guy off the street, it would hurt less. It hurts more with Trunks because he's Trunks. I put his happiness before ours. And now, to have this, I just don't know," he said gently.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell at him for abandoning me when I needed him most, for abandoning our daughter. I wanted to hit him repeatedly on the arm. But I didn't. "You don't want to come home if you can't say you do," I stated calmly. "It's over. I can tell you want to end it. Trust me; I know you better than anyone. I'm not mad. I'd rather we do it calmly than yelling and screaming at each other."

"No Marron. Don't say those things. I love you," he choked. He must have been crying.

I smiled sadly at our daughter, who was looking up at me with a puzzled look on her face. "I've realized, Goten, that if you love me as much as you did when we got married, you wouldn't be saying you didn't know if you wanted to come back or not. If you love me that much, you'd be here right now. You'd be able to forgive me for whatever I did. Things have changed. I'm okay with that. It's okay," I whispered.

"If you-- if you think this is the way to go, I can-- handle that. But I will always, _always_ love you, Marron. My Marron."

"And I will always love you, my Goten. Thank you for the best year I could have ever imagined. And thank you for my little hope, my Kira," I struggled through tears. 

"Goodbye Marron."

"G-Goodbye Goten." I hung up the phone and cried.


	19. Best Friends Means

Thanks much for the reviews… not much to say, except that I passed my Spanish proficiency today! Yay me! Okay, enjoy and review.

Bulma opened the door at looked softly at my red eyes. "I just ended my marriage," I muttered.

She held out her arms and held me and Kira close. "Here, come in. Tell me what happened," she said soothingly. She led me to the kitchen and took Kira from me so I could hold my head in my hands. 

"Goten called today, and I told him I needed an answer now. I wasn't going to wait any longer. That's reasonable, right? I mean, I can't wait forever, can I?" I asked, taking an offered tissue to wipe my eyes. "So he said he didn't know, and I told him if he didn't know, then he really didn't want to come back home, and what was the point of pretending he did. And now I don't want it to be over."

Bulma took my hand. "No, Marron, you did the right thing. It wasn't fair to you or to him to keep a marriage going that didn't look good. Trust me. I know about these things." Her eyes softened. "Trunks is upstairs getting some things out of his old room. You can go find him, I'll watch Kira for you."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks Bulma. I just didn't want to go bother my parents. They've had Kira all day and--"

"I understand. Bra's up there, too, if you want to talk to another girl. And you won't have to worry about Vegeta, he's over at Goku's sparring or something," she said with a wave of her hand. "It'll get easier, Marron, I promise."

"I really appreciate that. I just need to talk to Trunks, you know?"

Bulma nodded and turned her attention to Kira.

I slowly climbed the stairs and looked around. Everything was as it should have been. I heard Bra's stereo on in her room and her singing along loudly and off-key. Trunks was yelling at her to turn her music down and stop singing. Yes, the Briefs siblings were fighting again.

I couldn't help but smile inwardly as I stood in Trunks' doorway. He was sitting on the floor in front of his closet, throwing stuff into boxes. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and for a second, I almost lost it. No matter how many times you see Trunks without a shirt, it's still absolutely _wow_. 

"Trunks," I whispered.

He turned around and smiled. "Hey Mazzie. What's the matter?"

I ran into the bedroom and buried my face in his chest. "It's over Trunks. I ended it today. It's over," I sobbed. 

"What do you mean it's over? You told him you didn't want to be married to him anymore?" he asked. I didn't want to say anything, but I couldn't help but hear a glimmer of hope in his voice.

I looked up at him. (Why was I so damned short?) I told him what happened on the phone and what Goten had told me. "I just didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to sit around and wait forever for Goten to make up his mind. That's not what I want to do with my life. Especially now that I have Kira to focus on. But I'm just afraid that he's going to leave Kira and she'll never know him."

Trunks smiled gently and stroked my hair. "You're right. If he wasn't going to come home to you, _for_ you, then why should you want to be with him? And my offer still stands. I want to help you out with Kira. I don't care what I have to do, money, babysitting, whatever. I want to help you."

"I know you do. But I have to do this on my own. I can't depend on you for everything, even though I really appreciate it. But I will take you up on the babysitting offer. I want to see the almighty president change a diaper," I joked through tears. 

He laughed. "You need a tissue. And I don't have a shirt you can wipe your nose on."

I eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah, what's with that? Where's you shirt, Briefs?" I asked.

"I tired to change out of my suit, but Mom saw I had some kind of stain on the t-shirt I kept in my office and took it down to the laundry room for washing. So I'm stuck here with no shirt," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "So who has a better chest, me or Goten?"

I laughed and pretended to think. "Hmmm. That's definitely a tough one. But I'm going to go with Goten. I am in love with him, after all."

"You're still in love with him?"

"Of course. It's not like we've been apart for that long. I don't think I'll never not be in love with him." And here we go again. _I hope I'm not going to get pregnant this time,_ I thought to myself sarcastically. 

Trunks pulled me into a strong hug. "But will you ever date again? I mean, will you ever find someone else?" he asked. 

I should've just said no and changed the topic. Ha. Me and my big fat mouth. "I'm not sure. Who's asking?"

"I have to tell you the truth, Marron," he sighed. He let go of me and sat down on the floor. I sat down in front of him. "When you kissed me that night, and I didn't stop you, I didn't for two reasons. One, was that I was still in love with you, and two, I wanted to do it. I just needed to have you with me. I never thought it would ruin your marriage."

I furrowed my brow and sat there in silence. And that's when I really looked at Trunks. I don't know if you've ever really looked at someone before, but it's kind of weird. You see things you've never really noticed before. Like I noticed that Trunks has this little scar on the top of his nose. And I wondered where he got it from, and why hadn't I noticed it before? That's also when I lost my mind.

I leaned forward and firmly planted my lips on Trunks'. He was surprised at first, but then he got the general idea and kissed me right back. 

He pulled away first. "No, I don't want you to kiss me just because I told you that. I want you to kiss me because you want to kiss me." He tipped his head to the side. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I-I don't know. But I think I wanted to." And I kissed him again.

~

We did not end up sleeping together. We just had those two little kisses and then I took Kira home. I did not want to make the same mistake as I did last time. But since me and Goten were over, maybe I wasn't making a mistake…

Trunks had been my best guy friend ever since we were little. I thought I was in love with him, maybe I was. But I wanted to end it after he told me he didn't want to move on and eventually get married. But when I kissed him… it was like everything I had ever felt for him was back. 

I was crazy. 


	20. This Isn't High School

Hi people! I've finished the first half of this fic. It's divided into two parts, one in Marron's POV, and one in Goten's. Marron's is the prologue through chapter 24, and Goten's is 25 to the end. I figure it'll be about 35 chapters. So, enjoy this one.

When I opened the front door after work one afternoon, Trunks was waiting for me. Kira was sleeping in my arms, so I put a finger over my lips and carried her to the nursery before coming back out throwing my arms around Trunks' neck. "Hey Briefs," I said softly.

He turned his face toward mine as if to kiss me, but I pulled away and shook my head sadly. "I'm sorry Trunks. But the hurt from Goten, it's still there. I know I kissed you twice last week, but I was wrong. I'm not saying I didn't want to, or it was a mistake, but I just don't want to start something I can't finish. I don't want to hurt you again," I whispered.

"But it took you hurting me for me to realize exactly how much I love you. I know I was the worst boyfriend to you when we were together, Marron, but I've changed. I want to show you I'm better." He leaned in again, but I pushed him away.

"Stop, Trunks. It's a little more complicated now than it was back then. First, I'm still married to Goten, who I'm still in love with, second, I'm a mother to Goten's child, and third, I still don't know exactly how I feel about you yet. Damn it Trunks, this isn't high school!" Was I still in love with Trunks? Kissing him brought back a lot of old feelings that I didn't know I still had.

But then I thought about Goten. Trunks didn't affect me half the way Goten did; even 'Ten's voice was enough to drive me absolutely crazy. Being with him just felt so right, where with Trunks, it felt so-- bad. Almost like we weren't supposed to be together.

And we weren't supposed to be together! Goten and I were supposed to stay married until forever, in a lifetime in complete happiness. We had talked about it, made plans. It was funny, in an ironic sort of way, how fast plans can change.

"Marron," Trunks sighed, "I love you. And I don't care who knows it. I lost you once to Goten, I do _not_ intend on losing you again!" He cupped the back of my head with his hands and kissed me. Kissed me in a way he never had before, with more passion and love I had never felt from him before.

And I kissed him right back.

No one pulled away. The kiss just-- ended. I looked up at him, perfectly frozen. "Why-why did you kiss me like that?"

He smiled and delicately stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Because I'm in love with you. I don't care whose ring is on your finger. Goten's not here, and he's not coming back. I want you to realize that and accept that. Then I want you to tell me you felt nothing in that kiss. Tell me you didn't feel anything, Marron."

I couldn't lie, I couldn't lie, I couldn't lie. "I felt it. And it scares me to all hell. I'm in love with Goten, Trunks. Goten. I'm sorry that I'm hurting you again, but I can't start anything with you. Why are you making this so hard for me?"

"I'm not trying to make this hard. I'm just trying to love you the only way I know how. What else am I supposed to do? Buy you flowers? Candy? Jewelry? What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you to stop. Stop and realize that I can't give you a second chance." I sat down on the couch that was -fortunately- next to me. I felt like my knees were going to give out. "I know things are over between Goten and I, but I'm still trying to get over that. It's going to be quite a while before I'm going to want to have a relationship again."

Trunks sat down next to me. "And I'll wait. I'll wait as long as it takes because I love you. I'm not about to give you up again."

"But do you want to wait that long? You're Trunks Briefs, you can have any woman you want. Why would you want to wait around for me, the failed marriage lady with a baby?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Trunks was very stubborn when it came to being in love with me.

He opened his mouth to say something, decided against it, and closed it. But then he found the right (or not) words. "Marry me."

My jaw hit the floor and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "M-marry you?" I stuttered. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You wanted to marry me two years ago. I'm just picking up where you left off." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, no. I did that totally wrong." He slid off the couch onto one knee and took my hand. Very carefully, he slid my wedding and engagement rings off of my finger and set them on the table behind him. "Will you marry me?"

I jumped up. "No!" I exploded. I grabbed my rings and stuck them back on my finger. "Trunks Vegeta Briefs, you have officially lost you mind. Now go home right now. You have no idea what you are talking about. Do you have a fever?"

Trunks stood up with me and kissed the top of my head. "You're right. You still love Goten. I'll wait to ask you. And trust me Marron, it'll be the most romantic thing you've ever seen. I'll leave you alone now."

And he walked out of the apartment, leaving me standing there in absolute shock.

~

I didn't want to hurt Trunks. But I knew that if I called Goten up and said I needed a divorce because I was marrying Trunks, he'd go completely crazy. I've heard stories about how Gohan is when he gets really mad. We did not need to blow up the entire planet.

There was just something in the way Trunks told me he loved me. Something that made me feel like I belonged with him. But I didn't! I belonged with Goten!

And I also had Kira's well being to think about, too. It's not as if I had totally screwed up her life enough already, I had to go and kiss Trunks three times. I mean, it more than likely would have been easier to be in a relationship with Trunks if he was Kira's father. But then I thought of where I was before and when Kira was born. And I wanted to work things out with Goten, no matter what.

If all this hadn't happened, if I hadn't ever fell in love with 'Ten, and Trunks was starting all this shit, I know exactly what I would do. I would call Goten and make him listen to every word I had to say, no matter how long it might take. And he would listen.

__

Would being the key word there.

I had no idea where anything was going with Goten anymore. Well, I knew it was over, but I didn't exactly know what was meant by that. Divorce? Trial or permanent separation? And what was he going to do about Kira?

__

Oh Dende help me. 


	21. Unhappy Anniversary

Kay... Here's chappie 20!

Have you ever taken a real good look at yourself in the mirror? And have you ever not liked what you saw? That was how I was feeling.

I was twenty-five years old. I never was awful looking, and as I got older, I adapted more to my mother's shape and look. But I always wore those pigtails. They were sort of my trademarks; they were what set me apart from anyone else. Oh, Marron? That's her, in the pigtails. See?

But as I looked at myself as a twenty-five year old single mother, those pigtails just seemed-- silly. How would that actually work? "Awww, look at that little girl and her cute little pigtails. And look, her mother has them, too." I didn't want to be that person.

I took my failed marriage as a wake up call. I needed some responsibility and direction in my life. I needed some action and a new state of mind. And I took that as a starting point. 

Trunks and I worked things out and decided that we would pretend it never happened. Not that either of us could do it, but it was nice to know we agreed on pretending to forget.

About a month later, I stood in front of the mirror and set Kira in her little chair on the counter next to me. And I looked really hard. I tried to see what everyone else saw when they looked at me. Did they see the Marron who ruined her marriage and destroyed her life? Or did they see the real me? The Marron who was attempting to put her life back together and support herself and her six month old daughter while trying to reunite herself with her in-laws?

I picked up a pair of scissors in one hand and a pigtail in the other. Closing my eyes, I opened the scissors and closed them again right underneath one of the rubber bands. I opened my mouth to see a hunk of blonde in my hand. I screamed before I started to laugh hysterically at the fact that I had thought it was really that stupid. 

Kira stopped her endless train of smiles to look at me worriedly. She lifted her arms, motioning for me to pick her up.

"Don't worry baby. Mommy's not crazy. She just needed a change." I lifted her up and sat down on the toilet. I kissed her on the cheek and set her back in her chair. "I just need to cut the other side, and I'll be good." I picked the scissors back up and snipped the other pigtail off. The rubber bands fell out, and with a shake of my head, I saw I did a pretty even job. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad.

I hadn't cut that much off; it was still below my shoulders. But it looked different. I looked more mature with it hanging there bluntly, and not so old-Marron looking. I looked like my mother. 

~

There had been one day I had been dreading since Goten and I ended our marriage. November sixth. If I hadn't ended things with 'Ten, we would be married for a whole year now. But it came, and I dealt.

I woke up that morning with a headache. And when I realized what day it was, I wanted to go right back to sleep. But Kira was crying, so if for anyone, I got out of bed for her.

Seven months old then, she loved to stand up in the crib and bang on the sides to let everyone know she was ready to get out. I knew pretty soon she'd be able to just climb out the side and crawl away. When did she get so big?

And there she was, crying and slamming her hands on the crib bars. But as soon as I walked in the room, a smile lit up her face. How could I be mad at my situation with Goten when I had Kira? No matter how many times I messed up, she never judged me or left me. Okay, okay, she couldn't, but still.

"Kira, baby girl, Mommy wants to go back to bed. It's Sunday, Mommy's anniversary, and it's raining. Here, if I let you come in my bed, will you let me sleep some more?" I asked tiredly.

I got a giggle as an answer. 

"Good. And maybe I'll tell you the story of Mommy and Daddy's wedding day." I lifted her out of the crib and lamely walked back to bed. 

Kira soon fell back to sleep, but it didn't come so easy to me. Thoughts of how I felt a year ago kept swimming through my mind. How could I have been so excited, so anxious, so nervous, when I knew how it was all going to end? How could I not know that it would end up this way?

One year. I had fucked so many things up in a year. I think that may be a record. Then I thought of all the things we could be doing on our anniversary. Breakfast in bed, lunch on the floor in the living room, and candlelight dinner, or just staying in bed all day. That would have been the most perfect anniversary ever.

I didn't realize I was crying until I saw the tear fall onto the blanket. _Damn you, Goten._ Why did he have to have such an affect on me? It was a good thing I didn't have to see him around for a while. I might have done something stupid and drastic.

I looked over at Kira. She was like a little Goten. She had his dark hair, his goofy smile, his laugh. The only way you could even tell she was mine was by her eyes. And I was so thankful for that. If Kira had been born with Goten's eyes, I wouldn't have been able to look at her. It would be too much for me to handle.

It was the fact that I had ended it that made me feel really bad. I was the one who had told him it was over. Essentially, it was all my fault we weren't together. I couldn't even say he left me. I left him.

By that time, I had really started crying, burying my face in my hands as not to wake Kira up. The last thing I needed was for her to see me crying. I was the parent, the one who was supposed to stay strong no matter what. I was fighting a losing battle.

I think if it wasn't for Kira, I might not have made it through those months. She truly was my strength and my hope. And even though I was doing the whole parent thing alone, I vowed to try and make sure Kira had the best possible life I could give her. Because if not for her, the fate of my life would have been so unknown.

~

I spent the rest of that day between the bed, the kitchen, and the couch. I didn't answer the phone, and frankly, I had no ambition to talk to anyone anyway. I cried only when I wasn't in the same room as Kira. I gave myself an anniversary toast.

Boy, I was sad and pathetic. 


	22. Birthday Surprises

And here's 21. I think you'll find it rather… interesting.

Things got easier after February. It had been a year after Goten had left, and I was slowly realizing that this was my life. There was no more waiting around for Goten to realize how much he loved me. It was concentrate on taking care of Kira and me time. 

Kira turned one in April. She was walking and saying incoherent sentences. And looking more and more like her father. Ironically, her first word was 'daddy'. The only possible answer for this question was that she heard me use the term. Or, that's what I let myself believe.

On my twenty-sixth birthday, I woke up, wondering why my alarm clock hadn't gone off to wake me up from work. When I looked at the clock and saw it was nine-thirty, I jumped out of bed. But a note caught my eye.

" 'I called in sick for you today, don't worry about Kira, either, she's with my mom. You're meeting your parents for lunch at noon, and me for dinner at six-thirty. I'll send a limo for you. Happy 26th'," I read aloud. "Damn you Briefs, you always know exactly how to put everything together."

It was so nice to wake up and not have to worry about getting Kira up, or feeding her breakfast, or any mother things like that. Don't get me wrong; I love Kira more than anything in this world. She's just so exhausting; it was nice to have a break from all of it.

I took my time in the shower and getting dressed and eating breakfast. But since I had no idea where I was supposed to meet my parents for lunch, I had no choice but to call Trunks. And I wanted to make sure my daughter wasn't being tortured by Vegeta.

"Capsule Corp. Trunks Briefs."

"Briefs, where the hell did you get this idea?" I asked.

He laughed. "Just a little thing I cooked up during one of these long hours of my fun job. Your daughter's not in any harm, if that's what you called for. In fact, she's sitting on my knee at this very moment."

"You brought Kira to work with you? Doesn't that get a little annoying?" I mused.

"It's definitely more interesting than what usually goes on here." I heard him say something to Kira, who shouted, "Mommy!"

I smiled softly to myself. "Tell her I love her. Where am I meeting my parents for lunch?" I asked, remembering the reason for my call. 

"They are picking you up and taking you back to Kame House. Lunch has been catered and your dinner dress is in your old bedroom. The limo comes for you at six thirty sharp. Don't be late. Must dash darling," he drawled in a British accent. "Happy birthday, babe."

~

Lunch was amazing. When I was little, my parents always made me this huge meal on my birthdays. But those were like appetizers compared to what Trunks set up for us.

Soups, salads, meats, vegetables. I had not idea how or why he did it, but it was good. And the dress he left me! That dress was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It was a pale pink, spaghetti strapped, ankle-length gown with all this wild strappy stuff going on in the back. At first, I thought I wouldn't fit into it because of the weight I had gained from the pregnancy. But Trunks must have been going through the tags on my clothes; it fit like a glove.

I did this loopy curly thing with my hair, threw some make-up on, found some silver shoes, and was ready with the limo by six-thirty. The chauffer opened the door for me and ushered me into the empty limo.

"Where's Trunks?" I asked.

"Mr. Briefs will meet you at the restaurant, Mrs. Son," he answered with a smile. 

~

We drove through the cities until we got to this tall building. The limo stopped and the door was opened. I was quickly ushered into the lobby of the restaurant. The hostess smiled and flicked her hand to her right.

"Mr. Briefs is waiting upstairs for you. Up those stairs right there and to the left is the room," she said lightly.

I nodded my thanks and hurried up the stairs. I was curious of his reasoning for this whole 'birthday surprise'. He kidnapped my daughter, catered this whole lunch thing, bought me this amazing dress, and made mysterious dinner reservations. I knew it couldn't be just because I was his best friend. He had never done anything like that before.

I have seen Trunks dressed up more times than I can probably count. But I don't care who says what; he is just so _fine_ in a tux. So very, very fine. And with that annoying but cute piece of hair that always flopped in front of his face no matter what he did to it, he was just-- he was just no Goten. I almost slapped myself for that thought.

Trunks smiled when he noticed me and stood up from the table he was sitting at. "Good, I'm glad that dress fits you. I didn't know exactly what size you were."

I wrapped my arms around him. "Why? Briefs, tell me the truth."

"Sit down," he said, gesturing to the chair across from his. "You've been through a lot of shit in the past year or so. I just wanted you to have a good time and not have to worry about all the stuff you usually have to."

I twirled a piece of hair around my finger. "Well, that's really sweet of you, Briefs. I've had a great day. One of the best birthday presents ever."

He tapped my wedding ring. "Still wearing Goten's ring? Have you given any thought to replacing it with someone else's?"

"Actually, Trunks, I'm going to say something. And I want you to listen. No interrupting, no commenting, nothing. Just listen to me." I drew in a deep breath. This was Trunks I was talking to. How could I think of starting something up with Trunks? Well, it was easy. I thought of how much I actually wanted it. 

"I'm not in love with you. But that doesn't mean that I will never be. I don't want you to tell me you love me. I will give you a chance, like we were when we first went out. If things get complicated, I want out, and no shit from you. Is that clear?"

Trunks' eyes grew wide. "What? Wait, just say that for me again," he said in disbelief.

I smiled and leaned in. "I want to be with you," I whispered.

"I think that can be arranged," he returned softly, leaning forward to kiss me.

It was the best birthday ever.


	23. At Work

This chapter was hard for me to write. It involved really taking a look at the characters and imagining exactly what they would say in the situation. But I think I did a pretty good job. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm working on chapter 30 of this story. It's getting hard to set the story up to where I want it to go. But I have to work on it. It won't be long until I get up to that spot. So thanks for the reviews, they really keep me going, and enjoy this one.

The next Monday at work, I was making a cappuccino when Mia poked me in the arm excitedly. "Oooh, Marron! _The_ hottest guy just walked in here with an even hotter friend! And they were both looking at you!" she whispered excitedly.

I turned around, the steaming hot cappuccino still in my hands, mind you, and dropped it all over myself. Goten and Trunks were sitting at a table in the corner, talking in hushed voices, and shooting glances my way.

"Mar, what's wrong? Too hot for you?" Mia asked, bending down to wipe my spill.

"Mia!" I hissed. "Do you know who that is? The one with the black hair is my husband, Goten, and the other one is my best friend, the guy I cheated on Goten with, and my current boyfriend! Why the hell would the come here?"

Mia smiled mischievously at me as the handed me a towel. "There's only one way to find out. Go take their order. And if you need, I'll give you a break. Maybe they're talking about what's going on with you. I'm right here for moral support."

I glared at her. "You just want to find out what they're talking about," I said dryly, trying to get the rest of the brown stains off of my shirt. "Okay, I'm going. Wish me luck." She shot me the thumbs up sign as I took a deep breath and made my way over to the back table. Goten saw me first, and smiled softly. I took that as a good sign.

"There's my Mazzie," Trunks said brightly, smiling at me. "Look at you, working and everything." He stood up to kiss me, but I shook my head and he sat back down.

"Too bad I can't say the same about _you_, Mr. Briefs. Hey Goten, how's it going?" I asked, trying to sound breezy and casual, but I ended up sounding like a deformed frog. Damn him for making me so nervous. "What brings you two here?"

Goten cleared his throat. "Actually, Trunks was just showing me some pictures from your birthday. I read that you went out to dinner in a tabloid. You looked really great that night," he commented, looking me straight in the eyes. And I felt that look go right down to my toes. Not exactly a good thing, if your boyfriend is standing right next to you. "Oh, by the way, I have this for you. Sort of a late birthday card."

I smiled. "Thanks, 'Ten, that's really sweet." I went to open the envelope, but he put his hand over mine. 

"Wait until later, okay?"

I nodded and set it on the table. 

"Look Marron," 'Ten started, completely ignoring Trunks for the time being, "I know that I have been really bad in the last year or so. And I want to change. I want to spend time with Kira. I want to know that she knows she has me, and that I love her a lot. I didn't exactly know how to tell you this, so I called Trunks. I'm asking you; I'm begging you to give me another chance at being her father."

I looked at him blankly for a moment, shaking my head softly to myself. "You're just realizing now that you want her? What am I supposed to tell her when she gets older, Goten? And what if-- what if you get remarried and have another kid? What are you going to say, 'Oh, well, I made a mistake with the first one, but I'll do better this time'?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, Kira was a mistake, after all---"

"Don't you ever, ever, _ever_ call my daughter a mistake, Son Goten," I interrupted through clenched teeth. "Do it again, and I will not be responsible for what happens to you."

Goten stood up defensively, and Trunks glared at him like it was going out of style. "Damn it, Marron, she's my daughter too!"

"Like hell she is. Just because you popped out some sperm one night does not mean that you are her father. As far as I'm concerned, Kira has no father. She just happens to look like you, that's all," I whispered fiercely. "You have no idea how hard it's been on me, raising her by myself, with no help from you. Not a phone call, not a Christmas present, not even a birthday card. How can you do it? How can you know that there is this wonderful little girl out there, just waiting for you, and not even care?"

"I do care, Marron! And don't think that this year hasn't been just as hard on me as it has you. I've had to deal with your little "secret", the birth of my first child, plus you deciding to end our marriage! This has been the hardest year of my life! And I'm sitting at my parents' house all day every day, thinking about how I could try and, well, win you back, and how to get my life back together. And Bulma told me how wonderful you've been doing, and I couldn't call you. It would… it would make me seem pathetic," he mumbled.

My jaw hit the floor. Customers were starting to look in our direction, but I didn't care. I was oblivious to Trunks and the world around me. I was getting out everything that had been building up inside of me for the past year. "Let me tell you something. There were nights I didn't sleep. Times where my parents told me I had to sit down and relax or I'd lose the baby. I stayed at my parents' house for a week, and even after that, I had to have Bra stay with me for the first night. I spent our entire anniversary in bed crying. Finally, I finally was able to start rebuilding what I had left. But every day, when I got home from work, and I'd open the door, part of me would always wish that you'd be there, sitting at the kitchen table. But after a year, Goten, I had to stop myself. I cried all the tears I had left over you. I'm sick of it. Don't try to win me back now. I'm happy now, with Trunks. Kira and I are doing fine; we don't need you. You're too late," I told him sadly.

In all of my life, I had never told someone how I had been feeling for that year. And admitting it to the one person who had caused it was one of the scariest things I had ever done in my life. 

Trunks had kind of sunk into the background, along with the rest of the coffeehouse, who were completely frozen; as if moving would interrupt our yelling at each other. 

"Why are you here, Goten?" I asked. "I want the truth." 

"Because I love you. And I want the three of us to be a real family. Like it was when you were pregnant. I want to take back the last year and start fresh. I don't care what it'll take, Marron. I want to be married to you again," he whispered.

I started crying, and with tears streaming down my cheeks, I said, "You can't just show up and say that. Things are different now. I'm with Trunks. He's been here; you haven't. I'm sorry." I turned to Trunks and smiled weakly. "Can we go home now, please?"

"Y-Yeah," he stuttered. He gave Goten an apologetic shrug and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as he led me toward the door. 

"Mia," I said as I walked by, "I'm going to need some---"

She nodded. "Take as much time as you need, hun. I'll call Tom to work your shift."

I nodded my thanks and let Trunks lead me to the car.


	24. It's Like This

I just want to thank Midnight Lily, who is my 100th reviewer. If I wouldn't have read the review at 1 in the morning, I would have screamed. I did it in my head, though. Thanks, mucho love.

As soon as I picked Kira up that day, I held her so close to me, Trunks told me I'd suffocate her if I didn't let go. But just the fact that Goten wanted to take her away from me, even if it was only part-time, scared me shitless. And I hated that feeling.

"What was the point of him going there? And why was he even talking to you?" I asked, kissing the top of Kira's head thankfully.

Trunks ran a hand through his hair exhaustedly. "He called me up and said he didn't want your relationship with him to interfere with our friendship. And so I figured it wouldn't hurt if I brought him over for coffee. I'm so sorry, Maz. I didn't think it would be such a big deal," he said, sitting down next to be and wrapping his arm around my shaking shoulders.

I nodded and leaned back. How could Goten think that after a year of absolutely nothing, he could just come back and pick up where he left off? So yeah, he wasn't an asshole about it or anything, but still. Kira had been five months old when we broke up. He had had plenty of time before and after that to have a chance to be her father. And you don't show up after a year and want to be part of someone's life. 

I then remembered the birthday card Goten had given me. I propped Kira on my hip and carried her into the kitchen where I had laid it on the table, Trunks at my heels. Sitting down, I carefully slid the card out of the envelope and opened it. I ignored the poem inside completely and went for the part that was written out in 'Ten's messy handwriting.

"Mar, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to," Trunks said softly.

I shook my head. "I want to see what he has to say." I skimmed the card for a minute before actually reading it.

__

I can't believe you're 26 years old already, and that I've known you for 26 years. It's been an amazing journey that we've been through together, and this past year has been especially hard on me. I know that leaving you wasn't exactly the smartest thing I've ever done, but you have to see it from my point of view. But I want to make a promise to you, right now, on your birthday, that I'll be better. When you ended our marriage, all I thought about was getting back together. I have been in love with you for six years now, and for six years, I never thought things would turn out like this. I want things to be like they were before, whether you slept with Trunks or not. Marry me, Marron, and we can be that family that you wanted. Just, please, give me another chance. I wasn't lying when I said I love you. Please, let me be your husband again. If I lose you for the second time, I don't know what I'll do. I love you more than ever, even if we're apart. One more chance to make things right, that's all I'm asking for. Happy birthday, my angel.

I set Kira on the floor and cradled my head in my hands. "He wants to marry me," I muttered, rocking myself back and forth. "What am I supposed to do? Oh, no, Trunks, I can't be with him. I couldn't do that to you. Not again."

"Do you want to be with him? What do you want? Forget about me for a minute. Think of what would be best for you and Kira," he whispered.

"But I'm happy with you! You're always here for me, and you're like my best friend. I can't hurt you. That's just how I feel." I peeked at Kira out of the corner of my eye; she had gotten into my purse and was playing with my keys. "What do you think, baby girl? Daddy or Trunks?" Great, I was leaving the fate of my love life to a toddler.

"Daddy! Twunks! Mommy!" she giggled, waving the keys up and down against the floor.

I shook my head gently. "No, Kira. Which one, Daddy or Trunks?" I asked again slowly.

She looked at me for a moment, with Goten's face, as if she was putting some serious thought into the question. Then she turned her head toward Trunks and held out her arms. "Twunks."

Trunks leaned down and picked her up. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means you," I said with a smile. "I'm going to stay with you. It's what Kira wants, after all, and I can't argue with the baby. Can you?" I stood up and hugged the two of them.

~

A few months later, Kira and I were grocery shopping when I felt some kind of strong presence. Now, I've never been psychic or anything like that, but you know when you feel like someone's standing behind you? I was overcome with that, and when I saw Kira pointing and laughing to something behind me, I knew I was right.

I spun around and saw Pan standing there, making faces at Kira, a big bag of vegetables in her arms. "Pan!" I shouted as I threw my arms around her. "Oh my god! Pan!"

She laughed and set down her bags. "Look at you! Miss Mother! You look so amazing!"

"Look at you! How old are you now, thirty?" I joked. I fingered her shoulder-length hair. "And your hair! You are so beautiful!" 

People started to stare at us as we were freaking out, but we were having too much fun screeching at each other. If I hadn't known Pan all of her life, I wouldn't have known it was her. (Boy, I say that a lot, don't I?) She looked so absolutely beautiful, standing there in her short shorts and windbreaker. _This_ was my niece, my best friend who I had missed so much.

"You wouldn't believe what I've been doing lately! Ever since I finished at OHS, my grandfather got me into OSU. So I moved out of my parents' and I live at the dorms now, majoring in computer studies. You have to come to the dorms one night! The parties there are so kick-ass!" she exclaimed excitedly.

I smiled sadly and gestured behind me at Kira, who was sitting in the front of the shopping cart, trying to open a bag of pretzels. "I'd love to come out and party with you, but it's hard with this little one. My parents have her all day, and I don't trust Trunks with her and diapers."

She laughed. "My god, Marron, she is so gorgeous. What's it like, being a mother by yourself?"

"It's not too bad, I guess. It was hard when she was really little, but now that she's one, it gets easier. And I have _so_ many people helping me: my parents, Bulma, even Bra, when she's not too busy. But let me tell you something important, Pan. I've been with Trunks for a few months now, but I miss your uncle something fierce. He asked me to remarry him, through a birthday card. I never answered him, but I told Trunks I was going to stay with him."

"Wow. What are you going to do? My uncle is like this sad puppy dog; he's been moping around the house. I guess you guys had a big fight or something, and ever since then, he hasn't been the same," she said thoughtfully.

I shook my head sadly and sighed. "I just don't know, Pan. I just don't know."


	25. Revalations

This is a turning point in this story. Read it and you'll see why.

Three years went by. Three years that I stayed with Trunks when my mind told me not to. Three years where he told me he loved me and I just smiled. Because I was in love with Goten.

After seeing the card, I knew how he felt. He felt the same way I did. The same way I did everyday for four years that we had been apart. The same way I did every morning when I woke up and again every night before I went to sleep.

But I knew that I had to put Trunks' feelings into consideration. I mean, I couldn't just kick him to the curb like I did the last time I dated him. It wasn't like we were living together or had even slept together, but he was my best friend, and I couldn't do that to him.

Kira, my little Kira, was almost six years old the day I decided that I needed to break up with Trunks. I dropped her off at my parents and drove over to Trunks' apartment in Gingertown. My heart was practically jumping out of my chest as his building came into view.

Very carefully, I got out of the car and used my key to get in silently. _What the hell are you doing, creeping around like some sort of freakin' cat burglar?_ I asked myself stupidly. Then I shook my head. "Trunks? Are you here?" I called out.

I heard something in the kitchen. "Just a second babe, I'm making some lunch. Do you want anything?"

Food would have made me nauseous, so I just sat down on one of the couches. "No, I um, just ate a little while ago," I lied quickly.

I waited for a few minutes before he emerged from the kitchen, a big plate of sandwiches in his hands, clad in only a pair of sweatpants. "What's up babe?" he asked with a mouthful of food. He leaned down to kiss me, but I pushed him away.

"Not with food in your mouth, please." My smile faded and I took a deep breath. "We have to talk."

"Uh-oh. I know that tone. That's you whatever-I-say-next-is-going-to-be-bad tone," he said, somewhat alarmed. 

I pretended to ignore him. "Trunks. We've been together for a long time now. Almost four years. And I know that you're in love with me, but I'm not in love with you. You are my best friend, and I wouldn't trade you for anything in this universe. But ever since Goten gave me that birthday card, I've just been thinking how he feels the same way that I do, and---"

"Marron, that was three years ago! If you felt that way, why didn't you say something then?" he asked, and I could see how incredulous his face looked. 

And I didn't blame him for being shocked. It was stupid to hold everything in for three years. _That_ wasn't fair to Trunks; stringing him along like some sort of puppet. Hurting him then would have been easier than hurting him when I had no idea what exactly I was doing.

"I don't know. I guess I thought because you were so happy, and because Kira was happy. And all that I wanted was for Kira to be happy. But now I realize maybe her happiness isn't the only one I should put into consideration. And I don't want to hurt you either, and I don't know what to do!" I almost yelled. I was so frustrated, sitting there, trying to figure out what I wanted. I took a deep breath. "I want to be with Goten. I want Kira to be with her father. I want to be a family. I'm in love with Goten."

Trunks was silent as he sat on the coffee table, his jaw clenched and his gaze turned toward the window. "I understand," he said tonelessly. "You have to think of what's best for you and Kira."

I reached my hand out and placed it gently on his shoulder. "This doesn't mean that you aren't still the closest thing to a brother I've ever had. This doesn't mean that I still don't hold your opinion higher than anyone else's. And this definitely doesn't mean that you aren't still my best friend in the world," I said softly. 

Without a word, he stood up and pulled me with him. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "So we're breaking up again?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just tell me that at one time, you were in love with me."  
I nudged my face into his chest. "Of course I was. I was so in love with you."

I felt a soft kiss on my head. "Good."

~

For almost two months, I had thought that I had done the wrong thing. With Trunks I had comfort, support, and a place to turn to. Sure, that was what a best friend was for. But it always helped when someone wiped all your insecurities away with the most romantic kiss.

But I only regretted my decision until one day in June, after Kira had turned six. 

"Come on Kira, put your shoes on. We have to go buy Grandpa a Father's Day Present," I called from the kitchen. 

"I can't find my shoes, Mommy. I think my sneakers are at Bulma's!" came the exasperated reply. 

I rolled my eyes and smiled at the likeness of her father. "Kira, baby doll, I have your shoes in the kitchen right here with me. Now hurry up and get in here! Father's Day is tomorrow, and I still haven't gotten a present." I closed the tube of mascara in my hand. Yes, I bet you are all screaming _What the hell is Marron doing putting on mascara in the kitchen???_ Well, the lighting is better in there.

My little Kira pranced into the kitchen at that exact moment and sat on the floor with her shoes. Two dazzling black pigtails hang from her head as her bright blue eyes looked up at me. "Mommy, can we go visit Bra in her new house today? Yesterday when you were at work, and I was at Bulma's, Bra took me there and told me that I could come back whenever I wanted."

I stood up and grabbed my purse. "Maybe later. I'm not sure exactly how long shopping is going to take."

We finally made it to the car; the new land car Bulma had bought me for my birthday. As soon as we had only gotten down the street, Kira looked at me with her Goten face. 

"Mommy, what's Father's Day?"

Oh shit. _Breathe Mar; you knew this day was going to come sooner or later. I just hoped it would come later._ "Father's Day is a day where everyone celebrates their fathers. They buy them presents, or make them breakfast, or do nice things for them," I said as carefully as possible. 

"Oh." She was silent, and I thought that I had been spared the next inevitable question. Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky. "Do I have a father?"

"Of course you do. Everyone has a father." 

"Where's mine?"

I had to pull over the car. Tears were beginning to block my view of the road. 

And I knew at that moment, that every decision in my life I had ever made had been wrong.

THE END

No! It's not the end, don't worry! This chapter is the end of Marron's part, and the next part is done in Goten's POV. So don't stop reading. Please? 


	26. Goten

Muchas gracias for the reviews. The rest of the story is told in Goten's POV, starting with this chapter right here. It's kinda like a prologue to the second part. Well, you'll see.

So, exactly what was Son Goten thinking as his wife told him she cheated on him with his best friend? Well this is what I'm here to tell you. Yes, there are two sides to the story, though mine and Marron's are very similar. Neither of us lied when we told it, the many times that we did. We just didn't know what the other was doing every second we were apart.

The second Marron told me what was going on with our child and our marriage, all I wanted to do was scream. There was no way that my Marron would do that to me. There was no way that that hurt I was feeling had been caused by her. And I spent a lot of my time in denial. I spent days in my room at my parents' house, just telling myself that everything was a dream. If only I were that lucky.

Okay, so maybe running away wasn't exactly the right thing to do. Maybe I should have stayed and tried to work things out with Marron. But I was scared. I didn't know what to do, how to feel. I thought I needed time to sort out my thoughts. But sitting at my parents' house all day, I drove myself crazy. I played our marriage over again in my head. I tried to think of what I had done to drive her to cheat on me. Sure, I wasn't as good-looking as Trunks, and I didn't have as much money, but I loved Marron in a way that I can't explain. More than he loved her, that's what I know.

And maybe not going to the hospital was the most asshole-ish thing I've ever done. I know that I should have gone to see my daughter be born. Now I don't have that memory of seeing her the moment she came into this world. And that makes me feel like the biggest loser in the world.

Bulma still kept in touch with me; the only member of the Briefs family that actually did. I was so thankful for her. She gave me pictures, videos, and told me stories of Kira. Once, when Kira wasn't even one yet, I went over there while Bulma was watching Kira. I spent about an hour with her. It was the best hour of my life.

I lost touch with Trunks after leaving Marron, and my parents didn't speak to Krillin or Juuhachigou. Somehow, my mother brainwashed Gohan into thinking that Pan shouldn't be hanging out with Marron anymore. And there is nothing _anyone_ can do to convince my mother otherwise. So Pan was miserable. I was miserable. We sat on the couch together watching movies. Being miserable.

Sure, it would have been simple to just call Marron, and tell her how sorry I was for leaving her, and to tell her how in love with her I was. But I wasn't strong enough to do that. And I didn't know how Marron would react to me. I didn't know if she was mad at me, or hated me, or never wanted to see me again.

I was scared. For the first time in a long time, I was scared. Because I knew a life without Marron wasn't a life I wanted to live. And knowing that my daughter would never know who I was something I didn't want to live with.

I had pictures of Kira everywhere. There was one on the mantle in the living room. There was one on the picture wall in the hallway. Another on my nightstand. And there was the one in my wallet that I loved to show off to strangers. I had a Kira video collection, and I could probably write a book on everything she's ever done. I loved her more than I had ever loved someone who I had only met three times. 

One time, when I was grocery shopping with Pan, she saw Marron and Kira. She wanted to go over and say hi, but I didn't think I could handle it. So she went ahead, and pretended like I wasn't there. But I watched and listened. Marron told Pan about the birthday card I had sent her. Yeah, I asked her to marry me. Yeah, she was with Trunks. So that wasn't the smartest thing I did. I acted on impulse. I never said it was the right thing.

People ask me what kind of person Marron really is. She's not a horrible person, really. Everyone makes a mistake. One that they'll do anything to change. And Marron made that mistake. Mine was not going back to my family when I had the chance.

I thought about what kind of fiancé I had been. Was I bad one? I thought Marron and I had a very sturdy relationship. We could tell each other anything and everything, and aside from being madly in love, we were good friends. Which is the basis for any good relationship. Had I done something to make her hate me? Was I just not good enough for her?

So maybe I wasn't good enough for her. But, hey, was anyone _really _good enough for Marron? I sure didn't think so.

The true story with our marriage is that neither of us wanted to hurt the other. So we made up all sorts of excuses for our behavior in order to avoid it. But we didn't realize that making excuses would just end up hurting both of us more. 

And I think that it would have hurt less if it wasn't Trunks. There was just so much shit with Trunks; it was our friendship that almost kept Marron and I apart. Not that it still wouldn't have hurt if it were some random stranger off the street, but at least I wouldn't have had to live knowing my best friend had put his hands all over my wife like that. 

Ugh. It grosses me out just thinking about it. 

And now I wake up every morning with the knowledge that I failed at being a husband and a father. This is my story. 


	27. Hiding The Truth

Judging by some of my reviews, I think that my writing has come off as confusing to some people. The concept of this story is to show how Goten and Marron fight to try and make their relationship work. Yes, Goten does come off as a horrible father. But this story isn't supposed to really analyze his and Kira's relationship. Yes, Kira's presence played a role in Goten and Marron's romantic demise, so to say, but she really is only a small character in this story. "Runaway Hearts" is more about the trials that 'Ten and Mar had to endure before the end. And try not to hate either Goten or Marron; it will all work out in the end. I promise.

Oh, and Chi-Chi _really_ comes off as a bitch in the rest of this fic. I love Chi-Chi, I really do. She's one of my favorite characters. But I've always pictured her as one of those overprotective mothers, and that side of her really shows in this chapter and one coming up. So try not to hate her either.

Thank you again for the reviews. They really keep me smiling.

My mother, as I said before, cut off all communication with the Briefs and the Chestnuts. So you can imagine what she did when Bulma called one afternoon to say she had just gotten new pictures of Kira.

"Goten, I thought you weren't going to talk to those people anymore! You said that you wanted nothing to do with them!" she shouted.

"No Mom! _You_ said that! I have no reason to be mad at Bulma! And neither do you! She did absolutely nothing to either of us. Why is it that Dad can go over there every other day and spar with Vegeta and Pan can over there and hang out with Bra, but I can't have a phone conversation with Bulma? Damn it, Mom, I'm a grown man!"

She looked at me in shock. "Your father does as he pleases, and Gohan tells Pan what she can and can't do!"

I looked her square in the eye. I had her right where I wanted her. "Then why isn't Pan allowed to go to Marron's?"

My mother was fuming. I had never seen her so furious. "Gohan and Videl are enforcing that rule. I only suggested it."

"No, Mom. That's not what happened, and you know it. You weren't here when Marron brought Kira over. Gohan and Videl were accepting of both of them. Marron is Pan's _aunt_, and I always thought you put family first, but I guess I was wrong." And with that, I left the house. 

~

I didn't know where I was supposed to go when I left my house, so I flew around for a while before setting down in Satan City. I walked the rest of the way until I was in front of Capsule Corp. It was the middle of the day, so I figured, what the hell, and I went in.

As I opened the front door as I did every day since I could remember, I heard a shriek and Bra's voice. Bra? I could've sworn she moved out. But then again, Trunks moved out when he turned twenty-five, but was at CC so much, no one knew the difference. 

I hadn't even stepped fully into the foyer when something ran into my legs, Bra at its heels. I looked down and gasped as my daughter sat sprawled out on the floor. 

"'Ten!" Bra exclaimed, stepping over Kira to throw her arms around my neck. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, I had a fight with my mother."

Bra nodded knowingly. "Oh. Hey, my mom's working in one of the labs, but you want a soda or something? I'm just babysitting for--- Oh." She realized the situation as she lifted Kira off the floor. "Come on little girl, let's go have some lunch." 

I followed her into the kitchen, scratching the back of my head nervously. "I could come back…"

"No! I'll figure something out. Do you think I should call Trunks? Maybe he'll know what to do. What do you think?" she asked, sitting Kira on the table and placing her hands on her hips, Bulma-style.

I shifted my wait uncomfortably. "But aren't he and Marron… you know?"

"Do you know my mommy?" Kira piped up, glancing up at me with Marron's gaze.

I shot Bra a nervous look. "Um, sort of. Your mom and I used to be really good friends," I explained. What else was I going to say? I could just see it now. _Your mom and I were married, but then she slept with Trunks, and I left her, and then we found out that you were really my daughter, and we haven't spoken in the past six years. But not specifically in that order._

Kira looked at me suspiciously. "What's your name?" For a six year old, she was pretty damn smart.

Luckily, Bra cut into our little conversation. "This is Goten, Kira. Now, I think if you don't eat your lunch, your mom will get a little mad at you. So, what will it be?" She opened the fridge and buried her head inside.

"Goten. I've heard my mommy and Trunks fight over someone named Goten. Do you know Trunks, too?" Kira asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I used to be good friends with Trunks, too."

"Okay!" Bra chimed in loudly. "Now that we all know each other, let's eat! Kira, your usual, I presume? And Goten? Your usual?"

"Five peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with banana," Kira and I confirmed simultaneously. We glanced at each other.

"Oh Dende!" Bra exclaimed. She grabbed the phone. "I'm calling Trunks. He'll know what to do."

Kira cradled her head in her hands and looked up at me. "Goten, how do you really know my mom? And me? Do you know who I am?" she asked.

I cleared my throat. "You know Kira, I think you should ask your mother that kind of stuff. I think she could explain it to you a little better than I can. But hey, I want to hear about you. Tell me about yourself."

~

Three hours later, Kira, Bra, and I were sitting in the living room playing video games. And I seriously cannot remember a time in my life when I had had more fun. So, of course, that got me thinking to what it would be like if Kira knew who I really was, and if Marron and I got back together, and we were a real family. I was thinking it would be really good.

Then the front door opened. "Ugh, I had the worst day at work today, and then I forgot that I brought Kira over here, and I went to my parents', which is so far out of the way. Did you guys eat? Where are y---" Marron stopped in mid-sentence upon entering the living room. Her jaw dropped slightly, and I swear, she looked just as beautiful as the day I married her.

Kira jumped up from the game she was playing and rushed over to her mother. "Hi Mommy! This is Goten; he said that you and him were old friends. We were playing video games, and I was winning!"

Marron knelt down so she was eye-level with Kira. "That's great, baby. Why don't you go upstairs and get your stuff so that we can go home and have dinner."

She nodded and ran to the stairs, black pigtails bouncing up and down against her shoulders.

Marron waited until our daughter was up the stairs before her face paled. "What does she know?"

I smiled encouragingly. "I just told her that I was an old friend. That's all I told her Marron, I swear. I didn't know she'd be here. I thought she stayed at your parents' during the day."

"My parents went away for the week. Are you sure she doesn't know anything?"

Bra stood up and wrapped a supporting arm around Marron's shoulders. "I'm positive. We just had lunch and played video games, Ron, I swear."

I stared at my feet. "But, um, Marron, while you're here. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to, you know, have dinner with me this weekend. I want to talk to you about some stuff."

Marron eyed me for a second, and then she smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that. Pick me up on Saturday night." She looked at Kira bouncing down the stairs. "Come on, baby doll, say goodbye."

"Bye Bra! Bye Goten! Will I see you again?" she asked, her big blue eyes looking up innocently at me.

How could I say no? "Of course you will, Kira, I promise."


	28. Dinner With The Ex

Hellllllo. The other day, I wrote the very last chapter of this story. And yesterday I started the epilogue. The end is good, in my opinion, so keep reading. You won't be disappointed. Thank you to Bloodlustnight, Asanra, and LL for the reviews for the last chapter. They are greatly appreciated.

Let me tell you, I was a mess all of Saturday. The day seemed to drag on and on, and I thought 7:00 would never come.

But it did, and before I knew it, I was borrowing my brother's car to go pick Marron up. It seemed weird, picking up my wife for a date. And it wasn't even a date. Ah, it didn't matter. The fact that I was going to have dinner with Marron made me almost-- giddy.

I zipped over to the old apartment complex, memories flooding my thoughts. I could remember every time Marron and I had walked through the parking lot. I remembered when we danced out of the limo after the engagement ball. And when we found out Marron was pregnant.

Somehow, I managed to make my way to the door. It felt funny to knock on it when I had just opened it for so long. Anyway, the door swung open and I looked down to see Kira.

"Goten!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. 

I smiled and lifted her up. "Hi Kira! Where's your mom?"

"I'm right here." Marron was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. She was so beautiful. Her hair was pulled back and she had this pale pink sundress on. 

I set Kira down and shook my head. "How do you do it, Mar? You look just as beautiful as the day I ma-- met you." _Careful, there Son, you don't want to blow it._

She smiled and adjusted her dress strap. "Thank you, 'Ten. We have to wait just a few minutes. Trunks is coming over to baby-sit for me. He'll be here any minute."

"Oh yeah, sure. Don't worry about it," I assured. I felt a tug on my pant leg. 

"Do you want to see my room, Goten?" Kira asked.

I grinned. "Sure."

She took my hand and led me down the hall. My heart almost broke as we passed Marron's bedroom. I couldn't help but wonder to myself if Trunks ever slept in that bed with her. I shuddered, reminding myself to find that out. And then we stopped.

The nursery that I had painted six years ago was transformed into a six-year-old's bedroom. The walls were still the same pink color, though it looked like they needed another touch-up coat. Those white curtains I had put up were still there, but the crib and changing table had been replaced by a bed and a dresser.

"Isn't it pretty? I cleaned it this morning."

"It's very pretty," I agreed.

"Come on, you two! Trunks is here!" Marron called.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about seeing Trunks again. We hadn't spoken since the whole work incident a few years back. But he shook my hand and we acted like nothing had ever happened. Even if it was only for Kira's sake, it made me feel a little bit better. 

And then we were gone.

~

"So what did you want to talk about?" Marron asked me as we drove through Satan City.

"Well, I actually wanted to talk about Kira. I don't think it's fair to her that she doesn't know who I am. I mean, come on, Mar, doesn't she ask about her father?" I asked.

Marron looked at me sadly. "She did, a few weeks ago, on Father's Day. And I didn't say anything, Goten, because it broke my heart. I pulled over the car and just sat there and cried and cried. I guess she realized that you were something I wasn't ready to talk about yet, so she didn't ask about it again."

Wow. I had no idea that she felt the way I did. Without taking my eyes off the road, I carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe it's time we told her the truth. One day, she's not going to stop asking questions just because you start crying," I said gently.

"I know," she sighed. "But she's only six years old! How is she going to comprehend some of the things that we did?"

"We'll just have to explain it to her in a way that she'll understand. Like tell her that we got into a fight, and decided that I wouldn't get involved in her life, or something like that," I suggested. It felt so right, sitting there in the car, with my arm around Marron. I realized how much I missed it. 

Marron snuggled deeper into my shoulder. "Goten? When you sent me that card a few years ago, did you mean everything you wrote?"

We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. "Marron, I meant every word I wrote. And I still do."

~

Dinner was so great. Marron and I just sat there, telling old stories, laughing, and remembering better days. It was like we were engaged or married again. Or even just best friends. 

"Okay, okay, I've got one," Marron laughed, setting down her fork. "Remember the time you and Trunks went into that stripping contest, 'cause you thought it was a straight club, but it was a gay club, and all those guys wanted your phone numbers?" She was howling with laughter.

My nose crinkled up. "Shut up! That wasn't fun! And then the tabloids caught wind of it, and Bulma threw a fit!"

She laughed, and then her face grew serious. "What are we doing, Goten? I mean, here we are, sitting in a restaurant, I guess you would call us divorced, we have a daughter, and we are still just as in love with each other as the day we got married. So why aren't we together?"

That was a good question. And I had no idea how to answer it. "Aren't you still with Trunks?"

She shook her head. "I broke up with him. I told him that it wasn't fair to keep being with him when I was still in love with you," she whispered.

"Well, then I think that's a good thing. Because I'm still madly in love with you, Marron."


	29. Happy Family

Alrighty then, this is chapter 28. And it's very sickly sweet. Too sweet for me, even. Now I think I'll have to write a fic where everyone dies just to make myself feel better. Oh and LL, I started a T/M a little while ago, and have about a page done. So I promise that soon I'll have it up for you, because I'm not sure you'll agree with the end of this fic…

Marron froze. "You are?"

I smiled. "Gods, yes. It is so hard for me to just wake up in the morning and know that I left something so amazing and beautiful and wonderful. And it kills me, Marron. I just think about my life with you and how we could be so happy together. For six years, I have thought about calling you and telling you that I love you, but every time I pick up the phone, I remember how much you hurt me. And I never understood why. I didn't think that I was bad to you, or anything."

"Oh, Goten, don't ever think that I slept with Trunks because I didn't love you, or because you weren't good to me. Because that is the farthest thing from the truth. I think I needed some sort of closure with Trunks. You know how he almost threatened our relationship. And I think that I needed to just close that chapter with him in my life, and try and continue with my life with you. But things got more complicated when I went over there. I hadn't planned on sleeping with him. I just wanted to talk. But, 'Ten, when he told me that he loved me, I kept picturing you. You were the one I slept with that night, not Trunks," she said.

So many thoughts ran through my head at that moment, that I didn't know what was happening. Everything that I had been worrying about for _six years_ was finally coming to my attention. And everything was fine. Everything was perfect. And I was sitting at a table with the woman I loved more than anything on the planet. 

"Marron, I-- I don't know what else I can say to you. I don't want to rush back into us. You know? First, I think that we should tell Kira the truth. Then, we can maybe talk about where we want to go with our relationship. If we feel that it would be too hard for Kira to adjust to life with us together, then I don't think I'd be able to do it. I want to put Kira first. Even if it means that I can't be with you, I want Kira to have the best life we can possibly give her," I said.

"I want that, too. But don't you think that we're taking this the wrong way? We can't sacrifice our happiness just because we want our daughter to be the little princess. We can't spoil her. Just because we're parents doesn't mean that we can't be happy anymore. You can't let Kira take over your life like that. Believe me, I learned that the hard way. We have to be able to balance ourselves and our daughter successfully," she explained.

I nodded slowly. She was making so much sense, and I was just sitting there, like some sort of idiot. "But maybe we should ask Kira how she feels, and then we can make an educated decision off of that information."

"Goten, don't you think we're moving too fast? I mean, we haven't spoken in six years, give or take a few times. And now, here we are, talking about renewing our marriage. I think we need a little more time to think about what we're doing here," Marron said slowly. "I only came to dinner with you because you wanted to talk. I didn't come to get married."

That was the biggest slap in the face. I guess it was because I was so in love with her, and I thought that maybe bringing up old memories and stuff like that would just convince her that we were supposed to be together as soon as possible. 

But I recovered quickly. "I know that. But I want to take it slow. We can see where we are in our lives and what we need to talk about and go through before we can talk about anything serious. Sort of like dating again."

"Yeah, I think that could work out someway. So let's just go home, tell Kira the truth, and see what happens," she said, taking a deep breath. "Are you done? I think if I eat anymore, I might throw up."

I smirked. "If it's anything like the morning sickness, then you can count me out."

~

Marron was visibly shaking and I was as nervous as hell as we pulled into the parking lot. Here we were, about to change three people's lives. And only two of them were ours.

"Do you think this is the right thing to do?" she asked.

I smiled encouragingly. "Yes. I think this is truly the only way. If we wait any longer, things will just get more complicated. This is what's best."

We were silent as we walked up to the apartment. There was nothing to say to make either of us less nervous than we already were. And saying nothing was fine with me. I had no idea what I could or would say.

As Marron opened the door, I could tell everything was going to be just fine. There wasn't anything in me that felt this decision was wrong. Because as long as I was doing it with Marron, I knew everything would work out.

"Kira, baby doll, can you come in the living room for a moment? I need to talk to you about something," Marron called. 

Kira came bouncing into the living room, Trunks at her heels. Marron gave Trunks a hug and whispered something into his ear. He nodded, kissed her on the cheek, patted me on the back, and left.

Marron sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. "Come here, Kira. Mommy has to tell you something very important." 

She crawled into her mother's lap and I sat on the floor in front of the two of them.

"Now, Kira," Marron started, "I love you very much. And I hate keeping secrets from you. But Mommy has kept a very big secret from you for a very long time. Do you remember when you asked me if you had a father, and then you asked me where he was?"

Kira nodded and looked at Marron softly. "Mommy, why are you crying?"

I looked up. Marron had tears flowing out of her eyes. I reached up and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently.

Marron gave Kira a watery smile. "Don't worry about it Kira. Anyway, when I said you did have a father, I wasn't ready to talk about him yet. But I think that I am now. Kira, when Goten told you that we were old friends, he wasn't exactly telling the complete truth. Goten and I used to be married, and he's your father."

For that moment, everything on the planet seemed to freeze. No one moved, no one said a word. I don't think anyone breathed. Which would've been a bad thing if Kira didn't break the silence.

She looked at me. "You're my father?" she whispered.

I nodded. "Yeah."

She paused and then jumped off her mother's lap into my arms. "I always wanted a father."

Marron smiled and I extended my arm. She slid down and we sat there on the floor in one big bunch.


	30. Meet the Sons Again

Thank you reviewers. I love you guys more than you know. Chi-Chi comes off as a bitch again in this chapter, but as before, it's her overprotectiveness. And after this is over, I'm taking a break from DBZ for a while. I'll still work on it on the side, but it won't be my major category. Just to let you know. 

That night, I convinced Marron to let me take Kira home with me. She packed a little overnight bag, and we drove over to my parents' house. For the rest of my existence, I will never forget the look on my family's faces when I walked through the front door.

Gohan, Videl, and Pan were sitting at the kitchen table with Mom and Dad eating some sort of cake. When they saw Kira hiding behind my legs, each reaction was one for the record books. Gohan's jaw dropped, Videl sort of smiled, Pan grinned, Dad smiled, and Mom looked outraged. She didn't understand why we even had pictures of Kira in the house. 

"Everyone," I said with a smile, "this is my daughter, Kira."

Kira smiled shyly from behind my leg, tugging on my jeans.

There was silence for a long moment. Finally, Dad stood up and smiled gently, before leaning down so he was eye-level with Kira. "Hi, Kira! My name is Goku, and I'm your grandpa. Do you want me to show you the house?" he asked softly.

Kira looked up at me as if to ask if it was okay. I nodded, and she took Dad's offered hand and he led her into the hallway, asking her questions like how old she was and what kind of things she liked to do.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Mom glared bullets at me. "Just what do you think you're doing, Goten? Bringing her over here! Does she even know what Marron did to you? To her?" she whispered fiercely.

Gohan put his hand on her arm. "Mom, calm down. Of course she doesn't know about that, she's only six years old, right Goten?"

"Yeah, she is. And Marron and I _both_ decided that it would be a good idea for me to get involved in her life. So we figured that the best first step would be to have her spend the night with me. And if you don't want to get the chance to get to know your granddaughter, who is a wonderful, smart little girl, then we can find somewhere else to stay," I said firmly. 

Gohan shot Videl a glance, who then shot one to Pan. And Pan looked at my mother.

"Well, of course you can stay here. I just-- I just don't want you to assume that she's your baby. Because you don't know that for sure," Mom muttered.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Mom, I can't keep having this conversation with you. It's not fair to me, or to Kira, for you to keep accusing this. Even Bulma says that Kira is exactly like me. She even looks like me, damn it! You never once doubted that Pan was Gohan's! What makes my situation any different?"

"Because Videl never slept with Trunks!" she hissed.

"You don't know that! No offense Videl, I love you. But Mom, you can't keep assuming that just because Marron happened to sleep with Trunks around the same time she got pregnant doesn't mean that Kira is his. Marron already could have been pregnant when she slept with Trunks. We don't know that. But we do know that Kira is my daughter. What do you want, a freakin' blood test?"

I didn't get an answer because Dad and Kira came waltzing into the kitchen, Kira nodding happily, her pigtails bouncing up and down against her shoulders. 

I smiled at her and lifted up into my arms. "You didn't get to meet everyone else, baby. Here, that over there is your grandma Chi-Chi, and that's your Uncle Gohan, and Aunt Videl, and this is your cousin Pan. Pan is your mom's best friend."

Kira looked at me confusedly. "But I thought Trunks was my mommy's best friend."

"Ah, he is. But I am your mom's best _best_ friend. There's a difference," Pan said with a smirk. 

Gohan stood up. "Come on, Kira, let's go put your stuff in my old bedroom. You can stay in there. That is, unless you'd rather stay in your dad's room with him."

"Um, I want to stay with my daddy. Is that okay?" Kira asked, looking up at me. 

"That's fine. Let's go upstairs and get your stuff together. What time do you have to go to bed?" I queried, walking up the stairs, Gohan behind me. It was a little sad that I was her father and I had no idea about her daily life.

"Well, when I go to school, Mommy makes me go to sleep at eight-thirty. But since it's summer, she doesn't really care."

I laughed. "You are such a liar! I know for a fact your mother cares. Maybe we'll just have to call her and figure it out!"

~

After two hours of totally annihilating Pan and Kira at video games, Pan went home and I told Kira it was time for bed. Ruining the fun really made me feel very father-like. And I liked that feeling. It was a feeling of superiority and authority. But most of all, it was an amazing role. Just hearing Kira call me Daddy really make my heart break knowing that I had missed six years of this. 

Kira was such a wonderful little girl. She was smart for her age, even if she only had a kindergarten education. And the fact that I had a part in creating something so beautiful and precious was such an indescribable feeling. I didn't know how I could love someone I had only really known for two days.

When I was saying goodnight to Kira, she looked up at me and tilted her head. "Why haven't I ever met you before? Did you know about me? Or did Mommy never tell you?"

Oh, gods. Why couldn't Marron have answered that question already? Why was I the one who had to tell Kira about our checkered past? About the hurtful things we had done to each other? We were her parents; we shouldn't have done things so awful to each other and ourselves. I took a deep breath in. "Kira, your mom and I did some things that we don't like to talk about. One day, though, I promise that we'll tell you exactly what happened. But I did know about you, yes, and your mom and I were married when she was pregnant with you. You're only six years old, and some of the things that happened are really hurtful, and I don't want you to go through something like that so young. Do you understand?"

"Daddy? Do you have any pictures of when you and Mommy got married?" Kira asked.

I smiled. "Actually, I do. Did your mother ever show you the wedding album? Oh, she couldn't have. I have it. Here, let me get it." I reached into one of the dresser drawers and pulled out the thick album. "Look, here's your mom in her dress, and here's your grandmother…"

We spent the next three hours reliving mine and Marron's wedding day.


	31. Anniversary, Take Two

Lalala… Another week, another chapter. I don't know what to say about this chapter, except for it's a mean cliffhanger; one of the first I've done, I think. Anyway, enjoy… there's not much left. 

We continued to sort of share custody of Kira for about a month, until she had to go back to school. Then we decided that she could spend weekends and days off with me.

Kira went to Orange Star Elementary, and went into the first grade that September. Since Marron worked until six, and Kira got out of school at three, she went to Capsule Corp. instead of her grandparents. OSE was closer to CC than to Kame House.

But it didn't matter to me. I'd always go over there and spend about two hours with her. Life had finally taken meaning again, and I had a reason to get up and out of bed in the morning. And it was so great.

But by November, things started to get edgy. I knew that our anniversary was quickly approaching, and I didn't know exactly what to say to Marron on that day. Was it appropriate to tell your sort of ex-wife happy anniversary? I didn't really know anybody that was divorced, or in a situation similar to ours, so I asked Bulma, who kind of dealt with it with Yamcha.

"Oh, of course you should. Especially that you and Marron are on such good terms now. You have taken her out since you've come back into her life?"

I paused. "Um, we went out to dinner that one night, and I've gone over there for lunch and dinner, and she's hung out at my parents', but otherwise, no."

Bulma smiled. "Then take her out for an anniversary dinner!" she suggested. "Since you two never got to celebrate it."

So I first talked to Krillin and Juuhachigou, then my parents before Marron. We made a plan to have Kira spend the day with my parents, then the night at Kame House with Krillin and Juu. I figured that if I split the day up between both sets of grandparents, I didn't have to hear all the shit over which one was better. Not that Krillin and Juu would say anything like that, but I couldn't be so lucky with my parents.

And then I made some reservations at some restaurant in Gingertown and called Marron. When I told her about it, she seemed pretty excited. But when I remembered about the time she told me about our first anniversary, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. 

__

I spent our entire anniversary in bed crying. Those words kept coming back to me, and I knew that I had seven anniversaries to make up for in one night. Everything had to be one hundred percent perfect. 

The restaurant I'd picked out wasn't anything fancy, but it was good all the same. I bought flowers that morning and picked out a card. But when it came to write something in the card, I was at a complete loss for words. What exactly was I supposed to say? "Dear Marron, I'm sorry that I've been an asshole for the past seven years, but I want to change." Oh yeah, Goten, there's a winner.

Finally, I just scribbled something stupid like, how much I'd missed her, and how I wanted to be better at being her friend, if nothing more. I didn't know what else to say. 

And I had that weird feeling again when I went to pick Marron up. It was like something was wrong. That's when I knew that Marron and I should be married, not having the occasional dinner.

I knocked on the door, and when she opened it, I smiled goofily. "You are so beautiful. Happy anniversary."

Marron grinned, and opened her arms for a hug. "Happy anniversary," she whispered into my shoulder. "This is a really great idea."

I held out the flowers. "These are for you, my dear. And here's your card."

"Thank you, they're beautiful. Here, let me put them in some water."

I followed her to the kitchen nervously, feeling like a complete idiot. "Um, Marron? Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck nervously. I needed to tell her how I felt, I needed to try and save us somehow. Or, more specifically, what was left of us.

"Mmhmm," she murmured, her back to me. "Just one second, babe."

I closed my eyes and ran a head through my hair. "I'll, um, be in the living room." I sighed and sat down on the couch, but then changed my mind and stood.

Marron walked into the room, the back of her skirt flowing in her stride. "What's on your mind?" she asked, smiling warmly. It made me feel better that she was so happy. For a brief second, I thought that maybe she was happy to be in the living room with me. 

As silly as it sounds, I missed that living room. I missed sitting on the couch together, watching TV, or looking at old pictures, or eating pizza and drinking beer. My mind floated back to that last day, the day I left, and I remembered sitting in the living room wrapped up in the old green blanket, watching the rain fall and talking about our plans for the future. I remembered falling asleep in the living room, only to have Marron wake me up and bring me to bed. It's amazing how one room can mean so much to a person.

Since it was November, and it got dark early, Marron had the lamps on, and the light caught the diamond on her finger. Her wedding ring. She still had it on. After seven years of not being married anymore, she still wore her ring. I looked down at my own hand, where my ring had once been and hung my head in shame. I had taken it off out of anger and spite, and it sat on my dresser for seven years, never touched, never moved.

"You still have your ring on?" I asked in a whisper. 

Marron blushed, and twirled the ring around her finger, something I had seen her do many times before. She only did it when she was nervous, or embarrassed. "Yeah, well, after you left, I was hoping you would come back, and after we broke up, I wanted something to remember you by, bedsides Kira, of course."

I crinkled my nose. "You wanted to remember me?"

She looked up at me as if I was crazy. "Of course. Why? Didn't you want to remember me?"

Like I could forget her if I tried. "Marron, there is no way in hell that I could ever forget you. I wanted to remember everything about you. I relived our life together in my head every day. I asked myself every five minutes why we weren't together."

Marron's eyes brimmed with tears, and she took a step closer. "Why weren't we together?" she asked.


	32. Living Room

Marron's eyes brimmed with tears, and she took a step closer. "Why weren't we together?" she asked.  
Goten sighed, and took a step closer to Marron.  
"Because.. Because.. Because I'm gay Marron," he sighed. Marron's eyes widened. A dark figure slowly crept up to Marron, from behind.  
"And I am his lover," it said. Marron spun around to see the face of her life bringer. Her own..  
"Daddy?" Krillin nodded his head. Marron slumped to the ground, and wept. Just then..  
TRUNKS BURST THROUGH THE DOOR, GRABBED MARRON, MADE MAD PASSIONATE LOVE TO HER, AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!! (with Kira of course)  


No, this isn't what happens. This is LL's sick and twisted mind altering the ending of my ficcies! This is what REALLY happens…

"I honestly don't know," I said. "Because I love you so much, and it's so hard to see you right now, right here in front of me, and know that you aren't with me."

A tear slipped down Marron's cheek. "Goten, I don't think it would be a good thing for us to get back together. There's still so much pain, and I couldn't do that to Kira. I mean, we just sprung the fact that she has a father on her, and I don't know if it would be such a good idea to mess up her life further."

I shook my head and took another step closer, until we were only inches apart. "You know that I love Kira like I can't explain. But you have to remember, I know what she's going through. I didn't know my father until I was seven years old. And when he came back to my mother, I was so ecstatic. I saw how happy my mother was, and that made me happy. Like Kira, I had seen my mother so sad for so long, and it was great to see her smile again. Why can't Kira have that?" I asked, reaching out to wipe a tear from her face.

"I hurt you, Goten. And you hurt me. No matter what happens, or what we do, we'll always be reminded of that pain. I don't know if I could live always knowing that we had to do this twice. If it didn't work out the first time, it's just not going to work out at all," she said through her tears.

No. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to agree with me, and then we were supposed to go to dinner and continue our lives together. Not knowing what else to do, I got down on my knees and took her hands. "Don't do this to me, Marron. You and I have something I've never had before, with anyone else. And if you tell me that we can't be together, I don't know what I'll do. Leaving you was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my entire life, and I've regretted it since I did it. But I don't want to feel that way again. I don't want to regret each day that I'm not with you. Damn it, Marron, please. Don't say that we can't be together. Don't say that." I kissed each of her hands.

Marron got down on her knees in front of me and smiled sadly. "Goten, things are so different now then they were before. Wouldn't you always live in fear that I would hurt you again? Wouldn't you always worry that something could happen with Trunks again? And what if something did happen? What would we tell Kira? I couldn't do that to her. I just couldn't," she sniffed.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell. I wanted to cry. "What did happen with you and Trunks? Were you in love with him? Was it some sort of heat of the moment type thing where you realized you wanted nothing but him?" I asked, as calm as my shaky voice could handle.

"No. I didn't love him. It was more of a safety net type thing. I figured if I had someone, he could protect me from all the pain. We never did anything passed a kiss; we never even slept in the same apartment. He always went home at night. He would tell me he loved me, but I would never say anything. That's why I had to break up with him. It was wrong to keep him going like that. It wasn't fair," she murmured in a distant voice. She placed her hand on my head and smoothed my hair. "I just… I don't want to hurt you again. Because that might kill me."

I blinked tears away. "Life doesn't feel right without you, Marron. And I can't live a life that doesn't have you in it."

She kissed me softly on the cheek. "And I can't imagine hurting you again. That's why I can't be with you anymore. Not after what happened. Please try to understand that."

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. "I can't have that. This isn't fair. I love you too much for this to happen. I don't care what happens in ten years, or twenty years, or even tomorrow. All I know is that for today, for right now, I want to be with you more than I've ever wanted to be with someone. And I don't care how much you hurt me. Because starting right now, you and I are going to be together. No matter what you, or anyone else for that matter, has to say." I smirked, despite the tears threatening to fall down my face. "What do I have to do, go to America again? I might be able to get my apartment back in California, you know."

Marron looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "Kira would hate that. She adores you so much."

"And what about you? Do you adore me?" I asked, perfectly aware that that question overstepped certain silent boundaries we'd set for this conversation.

She sighed. "You know how much I love you, 'Ten. Look, I just want to stay like we are. Just friends, taking care of Kira, and having the occasional anniversary dinner," she said softly.

I mentally slapped myself. "Dinner. Oh gods, Marron, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about it. Are you mad?"

"No, not at all. Here, let me put on some coffee. I think there's some frozen pizzas in the freezer. I can heat them up real quick if you want," she offered, standing up and smoothing out her skirt.

I followed her. "Sure. That sounds great. You want some help?" I asked. I wasn't going to give up on Marron that easily. Krillin and Juuhachigou had Kira all night, which meant that I had all night to convince Marron that we were meant to be together. "And you didn't get a chance to open your card."

"Oh! That's right! Let me go get yours. It's in the bedroom. Could you start on that coffee for me, babe?" she asked hurriedly, bustling around the apartment, looking so cute and adorable.

I smiled to myself and nodded. "No problem." I messed around with the coffee pot and got some brewing before Marron came back out, an envelope in her hand and a smile on her face.

"I know it really doesn't make up for what I did, but I thought maybe, well, here," she stammered, handing me the envelope with a shrug.

"And I guess this kind of justifies what I did, in it's own little way," I muttered, scratching the back of my head and giving her mine. With an internal smile, I opened the card slowly and slumped down in a chair to read it. 

__

Seventh time's a charm, eh? I have six more cards for you in a box under my bed, but I never had the guts to mail them to you. I guess I thought I had to let you go if I wanted to continue living my life. Cheating on you killed me, Goten. I really wish that things could have worked out differently between us. But I like the way things have been going. I'm glad that if we can't be married again, at least we're friends. All my love, Marron.

I looked up at her and smiled nostalgically. "Marron, I don't know what to say."

With a tear in her eye, she set down my card. "Just say that you'll agree with my decision to not be together."

What was I supposed to do? This was killing me, but I couldn't force her into something that she didn't want just because it would make me happy. "Yeah," I said with a heavy sigh, "I'll agree." 


	33. Plan of Action

Okay! So this is chapter 32, and I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to BloodLustNight and LL for the reviews.

I needed another plan of action. There was no way that I was going to give up on Marron that easily. There was just no way.

I had tried talking, dinners, cards, everything. She was so hell-bent on not being together. How can you love someone and not want to be with them? I just didn't understand it. If Marron loved me as much as I loved her, the only thing that would be on her mind would be getting married and maybe having another baby. 

So why wasn't that happening?

Pan and Marron went shopping the day after our anniversary, and I had Kira, and we were out getting pizza when Kira looked up at me and giggled.

"What's so funny? Is there like, pizza on my nose or something?" I asked, pulling some napkins out of the dispenser.

She shook her head. "No, Mommy just said something really funny about you this morning when she picked me up from Grandma Juu and Papa Krillin's. And I'm just remembering it now."

I narrowed my eyes. "Oh? And what was this funny thing?"

"I asked Mommy if she had a good time with you last night, and she looked at me all funny and said that you were the most stubborn man in the universe. And I know what stubborn means, 'cause one time, she called Grandma Juu stubborn, and I asked her what it meant, and she told me," Kira babbled, happily chewing on her slice.

I laughed. "She said I was stubborn, huh? I'm sure she didn't tell you why though. Kira, baby doll, I want to marry your mother, and we had sort of a disagreement about it," I explained in a dramatic voice.

Kira's eyes widened. "Really? Oh, Daddy, that would be so cool if you and Mommy got married! Why doesn't she want to marry you?"

"Things happened between your mom and I that you wouldn't understand. But I love your mom very much, and I would do anything for her. But she just doesn't want to get married again," I said with a sad smile.

"Is it about Trunks? Mommy and Trunks used to fight over you before I knew you. She would always say she loved you, and he would always say he loved her. I just don't understand grown ups," she said, taking a sip of her soda.

I sighed. How the hell did this girl get so smart? "I don't either, baby."

~

Kira's school had this parent-teacher conference thing at the end of November, and Marron thought it would be a good idea if I went, too. She left work early, and I left my very interesting task of eating cereal and watching movies on my couch. I picked her up in Gohan's car, (when, exactly, was I going to get my own car? Who really knew?) and we headed out to the school.

"Thanks a lot for coming with me, 'Ten," Marron said as we pulled into the school parking lot. "I think it's great that you're trying to get more involved in Kira's school work."

"Yeah, well, I missed six years of her life, so I have to start making up for it now," I retorted, somewhat sarcastically. "And after this conference, I want to talk to you about our situation again."

Marron sighed heavily. "Goten, I thought we discussed this. And I thought that you agreed to stop this. Why are you doing this to me?"

I looked over at her small form, her shoulders shaking slightly. Why _was_ I doing this to her? If it pained her so much that she was becoming physically unstable, then what right did I have to put her through this? Yeah, I loved her, but if I _really_ loved her, wouldn't I know enough to just stop?

But I couldn't stop loving her, or wanting to be with her. And I was ready to go through any lengths to do so. The on thing I didn't want to do, however, was put Marron in a position that made her feel uncomfortable. 

And that's exactly what I was doing.

I reached over and smoothed back her hair. I loved when she wore it loose like that; the blonde locks falling into her face. "Hey," I said soothingly, "I'm sorry. It's really hard for me to sit here and know that I can't have you. I promise, I'll try harder."

She smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you, Goten."

"If you keep doing that, I can't make any promises," I joked with a grin.

~

I had tried to make things better with my marriage. And I failed. And there was no worse feeling in the world. I had put myself out there, and got shot down. My own wife didn't even want me. 

Let's just say that that wasn't exactly a boost to the ego.

I was lucky I had Kira. She always told me stories of how Trunks and Marron would fight about the fact that she still loved me. And that made me feel better. It proved that after six years of not being together, Marron still loved me enough to say it.

I had run out of ideas to get Marron back. But that didn't mean that I was going to give up. No, far from it. I just needed to think more.

She didn't want to hurt me, and she didn't want to mess up Kira's life. Which meant that she didn't talk to Kira about the situation at all. Because I had. And Kira wanted Marron and I to get married more than anything. What six-year-old wouldn't?

I tried the subtle approach, and the direct approach. I tried to tell her I loved her, and that I couldn't live without her. What else was I going to say? What else could convince her that we were supposed to be together for the rest of our lives?

An idea slowly crept into my head. Maybe if… Yeah, that was definitely it. I hadn't tried _that_ yet.

I picked my wedding ring up off of its spot on the dresser and slid it on my finger before flying over to Marron's apartment. I opened the door without knocking and stared stone-faced at Marron and Kira sitting on the couch.

"Daddy?" Kira asked, looking scared.

"Kira, go to your room," I said tonelessly.

She started to protest, but at the sight of the glare on my face, she started to make her way down the hall.

Marron stood up and frowned. "What are you doing, Goten?" she demanded.

I took a step toward her. "This." And I caught her in the most passionate kiss I have ever given her in my entire life.


	34. One More Try

Alrighty then, this isn't the last chapter, but rather second to last, if you don't count the epilogue. It's really short; less than 1000 words, but I think you'll find that it's very significant.

Marron kissed me good and hard for a few moments, and then pulled away. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and they made her big blue eyes sparkle even more than usual.

"Goten," she whispered lightly, "why did you do that?"

I smirked a little, not moving from the place where I was standing; merely inches away from Marron's pale face. "I'm trying to show you exactly how much I love you. I couldn't get you to listen to me any other way. So I decided it would be easier to show you instead." I gently stroked a strand of hair away from her face.

Marron opened her mouth, as to say something, but then shut it. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I forgot how wonderful it feels to kiss you. I missed that. I missed you."

"I doesn't have to be that way," I breathed. "It can be like it was before; all about us. We can go back to that. Remember that last day? Remember being so pacified just sitting on the couch and doing absolutely nothing? Don't you want that again?" I asked.

She nodded and my heart leapt.

"But--"

My heart stopped.

"--it can't be that way anymore, 'Ten. We both lead very different lives now. We can't stop time just for us. Things can't be the way they were before. I'm not the same person you fell in love with all those years ago. I had to change."

"Change for who?" I asked.

Marron looked straight into my eyes. "For me. If I had stayed the same person all these years, I would have gone insane. For Kira. What kind of mother would I be if I was still so hung up on you I couldn't think? For you. I needed to prove that I move on without you," she whispered.

I raised an eyebrow. "I never asked you to change."

"I know. You would never ask me to change. It was my decision to change for you. You have no idea who I am anymore. How can you want to be with someone you don't even know?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow to mock mine.

I chuckled softly. "So tell me, Marron. Tell me exactly who you are."

Gathering up as much height as she possibly could, (which still wasn't enough) Mar opened her beautiful lips and began to spin her not-so-beautiful tale.

"I am the woman who made a mistake. I hurt the one person that I loved more than life itself, and I ended up alone and very pregnant. My life suddenly had no meaning to it, and I found myself having to prepare for motherhood alone. And finally I was going to have my baby, which honestly was the only thing I had left to live for. But I went to the hospital that day and I gave birth alone. Okay, I wasn't exactly alone, but the only person I wanted to be there wasn't. And to this day I still don't know exactly why. I continued to live life for my daughter and my daughter alone. My husband was gone, my baby had no father. But my daughter grows up anyway. The one day, my daughter asks who her father is. What am I supposed to say? I cry and cry until my husband walks back into my life. And I find this fair to no one. Why should he get to know the joy that is my child when he has not contributed a single thing to her life? My husband insists that he loves me and wants to be with me again. But should I trust him? Should I trust myself to not make another mistake? I am at a crossroads. Part of me wants to be with my husband so bad it hurts. And the other part thinks that I should leave things the way they are."

I stroke her cheek lightly. "You don't have to feel that way. You can have faith in yourself, in us. What about all those plans we made? Don't you remember? Our grandchildren running around by the lake, chasing each other, and then we'd sit down and have a picnic? And the house. Do you remember the house? Big and white, with a huge backyard and a swing set. And a big bed with lots of pillows and a big, comfy blanket. Is it just me, or do you want all that too?" I asked, remembering the conversation we'd had years ago like it was only yesterday.

"I did want it. But now, now I'm afraid. You broke my heart once. How will I know that you won't do it again?"

I kissed her forehead. "This is me, Marron. I would never hurt you on purpose. I want to be with you more than I want to live. And if I can't be with you, I don't know what I'll do."

A tear slid down her cheek. "What if we-- sort of _try_ something? Like, we spend some time together and then see what happens? You know what I'm saying?"

I froze. It was too good to be true. She wanted to give us another chance. And I cried.

I gathered her into my arms and held her against me, rocking back and forth. "I love you so much," I whispered.

"I love you too, Goten."


	35. Happily Ever After at Last

Okay, this is it. This is the last chapter of "Runaway Hearts". Yes, there's and epilogue, but it's not much. I'm very proud of this chapter, but mostly the end, and not to sound vain, but I love the way the last paragraph came out. Enjoy.

I woke up the next morning exactly the way it always should have been: Marron and I wrapped up in each other's arms. But at six-thirty, the peace shattered as the stupid alarm clock went off.

"'Ten," she groaned sleepily. "I have to go to work."

I tightened my grip on her. "Can't you just stay home for today? Please?" I placed a kiss on her forehead.

She sighed heavily. "One day. I'll call in sick. But I'm the assistant manager now, 'Ten. I can't just skip work whenever I feel like it," she said. "Besides, I have to get Kira up and ready for school."

"Can I take her? And then when I get back I'll make you breakfast in bed. And then we can see what else happens," I added with a smirk.

Marron laughed. "Kira gets up in half an hour, you have to help her get dressed, do her hair, get her some breakfast, make sure she brushes her teeth and get her to school by a quarter to nine."

I groaned and pulled up the blankets over my head. "All right, I'll do it. But because I want to. I'm going to be the best father the universe has ever seen."

And I meant it. Kira deserved to have two wonderful parents, not one and one slacker. And starting right then, no more excuses. I had to prove myself to both my wife and my daughter.

"Okay, I'm going to hold you to that one," she whispered. "Now you go take a shower and I'll call in sick. Go on, get going." She shoved me away from her and rolled over.

I rubbed my eyes and peeled the blankets off of me. If I was going to be the best father ever, I had to get off to a nice, clean start-- a shower.

~

"Are you and Mommy getting married?" Kira asked in between spoonfuls of cereal. "'Cause that would be so cool!"

I chuckled. "No, we're not getting married. You know how Bra has lots of boyfriends? Well, I'm sort of your mom's boyfriend," I explained, sipping my coffee.

"Oh. But you're going to get married one day, aren't you?" she asked in a high, excited voice. 

"One day, hopefully," I said, looking down at my ring. "One day. Now go brush you teeth and say goodbye to your mother. You don't want to be late for school."

~

"Oh honey," I chirped as I opened the door after dropping Kira off at school, "I'm home!"

The smell of pancakes and bacon floated back at me. "I'm in the kitchen!" Marron yelled.

"I was supposed to make breakfast," I whined, coming up behind Marron and wrapping my arms around her. "Smells good though."

"Good. Because it's just about ready. Here, if you really want breakfast in bed, you finish this and I'll go get in bed, okay?" She liked some pancake batter off of her finger and smiled.

"I'm on it," I said, picking up the spatula. Man, is this was how every morning was going to be; I was going to have the greatest life ever imaginable.

I finished up quickly and carefully balanced the plates to the bedroom, where 

Marron was lying propped up against a pillow, idly reading a magazine. She smiled when she saw me. "Mmm, I am so hungry." She put down her magazine and took a plate from me.

I cringed. "Syrup on white sheets?"

"I wanted to talk to you anyway. About us. I, uh, heard you and Kira earlier. Goten, I do want to marry you. But not now. I want to take things as slow as possible. Which means that I want you to go back to your parents' house tonight."

How she could drop a bombshell like that so calmly while delicately eating a piece of bacon was beyond me. So I could only gape at her.

"Marron! How can you say something like that? Especially after last night!"

She placed her hand over mine. "I have to have a little bit of space. Look, I'm not saying that you can never spend the night here with me, but I think moving in together is going too fast."

"Okay," I said slowly. "I can take things slow. Just promise me that we won't go _too_ slowly."

"Of course. I'm glad you understand. So was Kira okay with you taking her to school?" she asked.

"She was cool with it, yeah. I still with I didn't miss so many years," I murmured softly. 

"I have pictures," Marron offered brightly. She leaned over the bed and pulled a big box from underneath it. "Everything from her first tooth to her first day of school."

I opened the box and picked up of a picture of Trunks, Marron, and Kira. Trunks had his arms wrapped around Marron and Kira was in the middle, laughing. "Were you happy with him?" I asked solemnly.

"Somewhat," Marron answered monotonously. "He was really just someone to take my mind off of you. I hate to say that, but now I think it's true."

I nodded and continued to look through the pictures. I couldn't help but smile at some of them. Kira looked so happy in each one, no matter if it was at home, in the park, at Capsule Corp., or at Kame House. There were a couple shots of her and her grandparents, and some with Trunks or Bra or Bulma, but not many with Marron. And then I found it.

The day that Marron brought Kira over to my parents' house after she was born and Pan snapped the picture of the three of us.

I fingered it gently, and if savoring the memory. I looked up at Marron, who was smiling softly, gazing out the window. That's the only picture of there is of the three of us. Pan sent it to me about a week after, and I had it in a frame in the living room. But after a while, I had to take it down. Right after we broke up, I think," she whispered.

Grinning slightly, I set the picture on the bed. "I want to put this back in a frame. And I think we need to take some pictures. We can do that this weekend."

Marron looked up at me. "I don't want to tell everyone about us yet, okay? I sort of was to just have it be us for a few days. I don't think we need to have everyone involved right now. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah. I think everyone else will only make it more complicated," I agreed. "Even though I'm dying to show you off."

"Bulma's Christmas ball," she smirked. "It's in about three weeks. We'll make it official there, I promise."

~

And we did. Marron and I made our grand entrance half an hour after the ball started. Marron looked incredibly gorgeous, with the skimpy red dress and strappy shoes she wanted to wear that year she was pregnant. And the beautiful new engagement ring on her finger didn't hurt, either.

I proposed to Marron in late December, the week before Christmas. We held Kira to absolute silence, and I think she was so excited, she did whatever we said.

So we walked in hand-in-hand, Kira happily marching in front of us. We weren't going to say anything; just see if anyone noticed.

Oh, and they noticed. It was the Son family's first Christmas ball in seven years, and they were all hypersensitive to anything and everything that was going on.

I caught my mother's eye first. She saw Kira and smiled softly, then saw Marron and myself and her jaw hit the ground. My father followed my mother's gaze, and soon Gohan, Videl, Pan, and her boyfriend Tony were all gaping at us. And just for effect, I moved my hand until the light caught Marron's ring. That really got them talking.

Trunks did a double take, Krillin didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, Juuhachigou rolled her eyes in annoyance, and Kira smiled almost proudly.

"Goten," Marron whispered, tugging on my hand, "I know this isn't the best time to tell you this, but I'm pregnant."


	36. Epilogue

A quick word to two of my reviewers- LL, this was NEVER A T/M FIC!!! Geez, with all the complaints from you, I would have thought you were going to throw things at me. And BloodLustNight, I thank you for those wonderful words of praise. The book, hopefully be out within ten years max. I promise.

With a contended sigh, Son Marron adjusted her position on the big bed and smiled gently at the scene before her.

It was Sunday morning and her daughter Kira had snuck into bed with her and her husband Goten, and was nestled up against her father. Goten had one arm wrapped protectively around his wife and one supporting the bundle on his stomach. The six-month-old baby boy, Kane, slept peacefully atop his father, only stirring every once in a while.

Almost proudly, Marron held out her hand and admired her wedding ring. She and Goten had remarried on the day of their original wedding, two months after the birth of their son.

Goten had taken the news of Marron's pregnancy much like that of a child who had just learned his mother was going to buy him a present. After nine months of what Marron considered to be the perfect pregnancy, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy with ash blonde hair and deep ebony eyes. He was born in September, and the small family of now four decided that their two-bedroom apartment just wouldn't cut it anymore. 

Goten started his own martial arts school in Satan City, and with the profits from that, he and Marron bought a big white house in town by the lake. It was everything that they ever could have wanted; with a big backyard and enough bedrooms to keep all of them happy.

The wedding had been a small one; even smaller than the first one. There were no big fancy gowns and tuxedos like last time, just simple dresses and suits. Except for Kira, who wore a little lavender flower girl's gown as she marched happily down the aisle. Only family (plus the Briefs, who practically were family) was in attendance. But Marron still thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

The phone rang, and Marron reached over to pick it up quickly before it woke up her family. "Hello?" she whispered.

"Hey Mazzie, I've got some exciting news for you," Trunks' voice carried over. "Guess who said yes last night?"

"You're getting married?" Marron couldn't help but shriek.

Trunks laughed. "That's right. I took Kim out to dinner last night and popped the question when we got back home, and she said yes. No one can resist the Briefs charm, of course."

"Hey, what's going on?" Goten asked groggily, taking his arm off of Marron and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Marron handed him the phone. "Trunks is getting married!" she squealed excitedly. She sat up and glanced over to her two children, who were now waking up slowly to see what all the fuss was about.

"What's going on, Mommy?" seven year old Kira asked, propping herself up on her elbows to see over her father's form.

With a smile, Marron stood up and took her now-awake son off of her husband's stomach. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast and I'll tell you on the way." She planted a kiss on Kane's forehead and led her daughter down the sprawling staircase.

"So who was on the phone? Did something bad happen?" Kira asked quickly, averting her eyes from her mother to her brother.

"Not something bad, something good," Marron assured her, placing Kane in a high chair and opening the fridge. "Trunks and Kim are getting married."

Kira's eyes widened and she gave a little jump and clap. "That's really cool! I love weddings!"

Marron laughed as she started frying up some bacon. "You've only been to one wedding. How do you know you love them?"

"Well, I loved the one that I was at, so if you love one, you love them all," Kira said simply. 

"What do you love?" Goten asked, as he walked down the stairs. "It better not be boys; you're too young for that."

Kira rolled her eyes. "I was _talking_ about weddings, Dad. And besides, I think Kane is going to have a lot of girlfriends. So you should worry about him, not me." She cocked her head to the side and stared at her baby brother, who was eating a banana that his mother had given him. "Are you sure he's ours? I don't think he looks like us."

Goten and Marron exchanged panicked glances, but then started laughing.

****

THE END 

And so it ends, almost as quickly as it began. In reality, I started the story one year ago, with ideas and drafting. But today you see before you the 100% finished story. 

I am more proud of this than anything I've ever written, and it may be because of all the work I put into it. This story was worked on anytime from 8 am to 3 am, and the characters are going to be hard to let go of. But first, some more rambling from

me.

I snuck a few song references in there, and I'm going to point them out now. 

Prologue: "The Moon Is Down" by Further Seems Forever

Chapter 3: "The Best Deceptions" by Dashboard Confessional (title)

Chapter 4: "The Taste of Ink" by the Used (I altered it a tad)

Chapter 8: "White Wedding" by Billy Idol (title)

Chapter 9: "The Swiss Army Romance" by Dashboard Confessional

Chapter 19: "Last Chance To Lose Your Keys" by Brand New (title and line)

Chapter 20: "Unhappy Anniversary" by Vitamin C (title)

Chapter 31: "Konstantine" by Something Corporate (it's not really a line, but more of an idea… read the lyrics and you'll see)

Another thing I wanted to mention real quick was the names of Marron and Goten's children. I thought about these names, and after scanning a list of Japanese names, I finally picked out Kira and Kane. Kira means light, and Kira was the light of Marron's life, so to say, through her tough time with Goten. And Kane means warrior, and since he's Goten's son, obviously he'll grow up to be a warrior. 

Anyway, I've really rambled on long enough, so just let me say that I really appreciate your feedback for this story, and I hope you've enjoyed it. 

*Starr


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